Indiana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Clay County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Clay County pays $627 a year, an effective rate of 0.41%, far below the U.S. average.
- $627
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.41%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -69%
- vs U.S. average
- #92 of 92
- rank in IN
The verdict
Homeowners in Clay County pay a median $627 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.41%, more affordable than 92% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $627
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.41%
- Effective rate on median home
- #246 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -69%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($153,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Indiana. Population: 26,409. Owner-occupied homes: 8,530.
The median annual property tax in Clay County is $627, which is 61% lower than the Indiana state average and 69% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.41% on a median home value of $153,000. Property taxes represent 0.9% of the median household income in this county.
Clay County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Clay County's 0.41% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 92% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Clay County pay a median annual property tax of $627, far below the national median and far below the Indiana state median. On a $153,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.41% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Indiana counties by effective rate
Clay County ranks #92 of 92 counties in Indiana by effective rate (0% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Clay County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 0.9% of the $70,010 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Clay 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
Clay County's effective rate fell 13.4% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 46.8%, leaving the median bill 27.2% higher at $627. That rate move is larger than the one in 56% 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 27% from $493 to $627. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 4,983 of 8,530 owner-occupied homes (58.4%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 0.9% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
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.
Clay County is an outlier inside Indiana
Across the 92 Indiana counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 0.66%. Clay County is at 0.41%, which sits 2.2 standard deviations below that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What Clay County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Clay County homeowners, 4,983 of 8,530 owner-occupied homes (58.4%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 58.4% (4,983)
- $800 to $1,499 20.6% (1,756)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.5% (381)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.8% (495)
- $3,000 or more 4.4% (372)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
543 homes here (6.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Indiana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Clay County pay a substantially higher bill, 38% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Clay County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Clay County's effective rate is higher than 0% of the 92 counties in Indiana - ranking #92 of 92.
Where Clay County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.41% Among the most affordable more affordable than 92% 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
Among the lowest-taxed counties in the country
At 0.41%, Clay County sits in the lowest 8% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. A low rate does not by itself mean a low bill: the median here is $627, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Clay County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Clay County | Indiana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 0.9% | - | - |
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.
Clay County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Indiana counties.
Clay County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $627 +6.5% | 0.41% |
| 2023 | $589 -1.2% | 0.46% |
| 2022 | $596 +11.2% | 0.46% |
| 2021 | $536 +8.7% | 0.49% |
| 2020 | $493 | 0.47% |
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.
Clay County: tax takes only 0.9% of income
Counties near Clay County's effective rate
On effective rate, Clay County sits nearest Cassia County (ID), Bear Lake County (ID), El Paso County (CO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Calhoun County (GA), Fairfield County (OH), Carlisle County (KY).
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
Clay County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 220 of 12,140 returns from Clay County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,477 - 41% 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 Indiana
Clay County rate FAQs
- How does Clay County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Clay County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.41% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Clay County?
- Clay County, Indiana scores A (89/100) 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 income room at A+ (0.9%). 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.
- What is the average property tax in Clay County, Indiana?
- The median annual property tax in Clay County is $627, an effective rate of 0.41% on a $153,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Clay County?
- Property taxes in Clay County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 0.9% of the $70,010 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Clay County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Clay County jumped 27.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $493 to $627, 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 to do with Clay County's QUIET rate
Clay County's $627 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 →
Income burden is light here: about 0.9% of Clay County's $70,010 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Clay County's QUIET 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: 0.41%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $627/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Clay County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Clay County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Autauga County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Clay County at $627/yr; rate 0.30% vs Clay County 0.41%.
Oregon County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Clay County at $627/yr; rate 0.55% vs Clay County 0.41%.
Caddo County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $626/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.54% vs Clay County 0.41%.
Atkinson County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $625/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.79% vs Clay County 0.41%.
Indiana county set
State ACS overview for every published Indiana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Clay County stamps QUIET · 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 Clay County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.