Michigan · County property tax · ACS 2024
Clare County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Clare County pays $1,489 a year, an effective rate of 1.11%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,489
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.11%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -25%
- vs U.S. average
- #39 of 83
- rank in MI
The verdict
Homeowners in Clare County pay a median $1,489 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.11%, more affordable than 28% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,489
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.11%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2262 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -25%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($133,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Michigan. Population: 31,218. Owner-occupied homes: 10,878.
The median annual property tax in Clare County is $1,489, which is 49% lower than the Michigan state average and 25% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.11% on a median home value of $133,800. Property taxes represent 3.0% of the median household income in this county.
Clare County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Clare County's 1.11% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 28%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Clare County pay a median annual property tax of $1,489, well below the national median and well below the Michigan state median. On a $133,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.11% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Michigan counties by effective rate
Clare County ranks #39 of 83 counties in Michigan by effective rate (53% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Clare County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $49,384 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Clare County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
A falling rate took the edge off
Clare County's effective rate fell 16.4% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 45.6%, leaving the median bill 21.7% higher at $1,489. That rate move is larger than the one in 70% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,223 to $1,489, a gain of 22%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 3,267 of 10,878 owner-occupied homes (30.0%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
This county earns in the bottom quarter of the country and taxes above the median rate, so the median bill absorbs 3.0% of median household income. The rate alone understates that; it is the pairing that matters.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Clare County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Clare County homeowners, 3,267 of 10,878 owner-occupied homes (30.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 17.2% (1,866)
- $800 to $1,499 30.0% (3,267)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.3% (1,557)
- $2,000 to $2,999 16.5% (1,799)
- $3,000 or more 15.4% (1,677)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
712 homes here (6.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Michigan handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Clare County, mortgaged homeowners pay 26% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Clare County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Clare County's effective rate is higher than 53% of the 83 counties in Michigan - ranking #39 of 83.
Where Clare County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.11% more affordable than 28% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
Clare County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Clare County | Michigan Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.0% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Clare County is PAR · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Michigan counties.
Clare County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,489 +7.4% | 1.11% |
| 2023 | $1,387 +3.2% | 1.18% |
| 2022 | $1,344 +6.8% | 1.20% |
| 2021 | $1,259 +2.9% | 1.33% |
| 2020 | $1,223 | 1.33% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Clare County: tax-to-income at 3.0%
Counties near Clare County's effective rate
On effective rate, Clare County sits nearest Kiowa County (KS), Calhoun County (GA), Dodge County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Manassas Park city (VA), O'Brien County (IA), Juneau City and Borough (AK).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Clare County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 220 of 13,990 returns from Clare County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,259 - 32% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Michigan
Clare County rate FAQs
- How does Clare County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Clare County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.11% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Clare County, Michigan?
- The median annual property tax in Clare County is $1,489, an effective rate of 1.11% on a $133,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Clare County?
- Clare County, Michigan scores D (41/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is housing pressure at C+ (2.71×). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- Are property taxes increasing in Clare County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Clare County jumped 21.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,223 to $1,489, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Clare County?
- Property taxes in Clare County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $49,384 median household income.
What to do with Clare County's PAR rate
Clare County's $1,489 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Clare County ranks #39 of 83 Michigan counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Michigan overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Clare County's PAR effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.11%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,489/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Clare County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Clare County (PAR · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR LIGHT
Haakon County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Clare County at $1,489/yr; rate 0.91% vs Clare County 1.11%.
Marion County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Clare County at $1,489/yr; rate 0.95% vs Clare County 1.11%.
Dickey County, ND
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,488/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.92% vs Clare County 1.11%.
Kossuth County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,490/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.00% vs Clare County 1.11%.
Michigan county set
State ACS overview for every published Michigan county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Clare County stamps PAR · LIGHT - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Clare County (PAR · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.