Kansas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Clay County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Clay County pays $2,055 a year, an effective rate of 1.32%, modestly above the U.S. average.
- $2,055
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.32%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +3%
- vs U.S. average
- #83 of 105
- rank in KS
The verdict
Homeowners in Clay County pay a median $2,055 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.32%, more affordable than 18% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,055
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.32%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2580 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +3%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($155,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kansas. Population: 8,048. Owner-occupied homes: 2,747.
The median annual property tax in Clay County is $2,055, which is 27% lower than the Kansas state average and 3% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.32% on a median home value of $155,900. Property taxes represent 3.1% of the median household income in this county.
Clay County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Clay County's 1.32% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 18%).
Decision signal 2
High among Kansas counties by effective rate
Clay County ranks #83 of 105 counties in Kansas by effective rate (21% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the Kansas median
Homeowners in Clay County pay a median annual property tax of $2,055, modestly above the national median and well below the Kansas state median. On a $155,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.32% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Clay County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.1% of the $66,176 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 17.2% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 47.8%, leaving the median bill 22.4% higher at $2,055. That rate move is larger than the one in 73% 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 $1,679 to $2,055, 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 810 of 2,747 owner-occupied homes (29.5%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
The rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 3.1% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to here.
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 Clay County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Clay County homeowners, 810 of 2,747 owner-occupied homes (29.5%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 10.2% (281)
- $800 to $1,499 26.7% (734)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.2% (279)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.8% (544)
- $3,000 or more 29.5% (810)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
99 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kansas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Clay County, mortgaged homeowners pay 18% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
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 21% of the 105 counties in Kansas - ranking #83 of 105.
Where Clay County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.32% more affordable than 18% 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
Same rate as Kansas, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 2% of the Kansas median, yet the median bill runs 27% below it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to cheaper housing produces $2,055 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Clay County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Clay County | Kansas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.1% | - | - |
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's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Clay County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $155,900 median home carries a $2,055 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $206 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Kansas.
Clay County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,055 -0.3% | 1.32% |
| 2023 | $2,061 +9.9% | 1.38% |
| 2022 | $1,875 +5.8% | 1.37% |
| 2021 | $1,773 +5.6% | 1.56% |
| 2020 | $1,679 | 1.59% |
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-to-income at 3.1%
Counties near Clay County's effective rate
On effective rate, Clay County sits nearest Winnebago County (IA), Mahaska County (IA), Harrison County (IA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Wayne County (IN), Gratiot County (MI), Bristol County (MA).
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 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 120 of 3,900 returns from Clay County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,450 - 33% 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 Kansas
Clay County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Clay County?
- Clay County, Kansas scores F (35/100) 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 B+ (2.36×). 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, Kansas?
- The median annual property tax in Clay County is $2,055, an effective rate of 1.32% on a $155,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Clay County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Clay County run modestly above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.32% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Clay County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Clay County jumped 22.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,679 to $2,055, 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 Clay County?
- Property taxes in Clay County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.1% of the $66,176 median household income.
What to do with Clay County's STEEP rate
Inside Kansas, Clay County's $2,055 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Kansas overview →
Clay County ranks #83 of 105 Kansas counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Kansas overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Clay County's STEEP 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: 1.32%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,055/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 (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Newaygo County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Clay County at $2,055/yr; rate 1.10% vs Clay County 1.32%.
Clark County, NV
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,057/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.48% vs Clay County 1.32%.
Des Moines County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,058/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.51% vs Clay County 1.32%.
Johnson County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,052/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.32% vs Clay County 1.32%.
Kansas county set
State ACS overview for every published Kansas county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Clay County stamps STEEP · MID - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.