Minnesota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Clay County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Clay County pays $3,013 a year, an effective rate of 1.13%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,013
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.13%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +51%
- vs U.S. average
- #11 of 87
- rank in MN
The verdict
Homeowners in Clay County pay a median $3,013 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.13%, more affordable than 27% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,013
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.13%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2296 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +51%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($265,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Minnesota. Population: 66,059. Owner-occupied homes: 17,424.
The median annual property tax in Clay County is $3,013, which is 10% lower than the Minnesota state average and 51% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.13% on a median home value of $265,500. Property taxes represent 3.7% 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 1.13% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 27%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Clay County pay a median annual property tax of $3,013, far above the national median and notably lower than the Minnesota state median. On a $265,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.13% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Minnesota counties by effective rate
Clay County ranks #11 of 87 counties in Minnesota by effective rate (87% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
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 3.7% of the $81,172 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.
The rate held while the market moved
Clay County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 2.8% up, against a median home value that rose 29.3%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 32.9%, from $2,267 to $3,013.
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 33% from $2,267 to $3,013. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 8,507 of 17,424 owner-occupied homes (48.8%) 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.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 3.7% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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, 8,507 of 17,424 owner-occupied homes (48.8%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.3% (752)
- $800 to $1,499 8.0% (1,395)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.5% (1,647)
- $2,000 to $2,999 26.5% (4,623)
- $3,000 or more 48.8% (8,507)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
500 homes here (2.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Minnesota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Clay County pay about the same bill, within a 1% gap either way.
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 87% of the 87 counties in Minnesota - ranking #11 of 87.
Where Clay County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.13% more affordable than 27% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Clay County moved from $2,267 in the 2020 release to $3,013 in 2024, a change of about 33%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Clay County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Clay County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.7% | - | - |
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 PAR · HEAVY on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Minnesota counties.
Clay County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,013 +5.6% | 1.13% |
| 2023 | $2,854 +4.9% | 1.11% |
| 2022 | $2,720 +10.8% | 1.13% |
| 2021 | $2,454 +8.2% | 1.14% |
| 2020 | $2,267 | 1.10% |
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 3.7%
Counties near Clay County's effective rate
On effective rate, Clay County sits nearest Wexford County (MI), Ionia County (MI), Delta County (MI).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Cumberland County (VA), Deaf Smith County (TX), Todd 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 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,330 of 29,640 returns from Clay County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,896 - 35% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Minnesota
Clay County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Clay County?
- Clay County, Minnesota scores F (34/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-43). 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.
- How does Clay County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Clay County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.13% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Clay County, Minnesota?
- The median annual property tax in Clay County is $3,013, an effective rate of 1.13% on a $265,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Clay County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Clay County jumped 32.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,267 to $3,013, 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 3.7% of the $81,172 median household income.
What to do with Clay County's PAR rate
Clay County's $3,013 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Clay County ranks #11 of 87 Minnesota counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Minnesota overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Clay 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: 1.13%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,013/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 (PAR · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR HEAVY
Lackawanna County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,012/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.49% vs Clay County 1.13%.
Sumter County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,014/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.78% vs Clay County 1.13%.
Grand Traverse County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,010/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.89% vs Clay County 1.13%.
Henry County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,016/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.99% vs Clay County 1.13%.
Minnesota county set
State ACS overview for every published Minnesota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Clay County stamps PAR · HEAVY - 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 (PAR · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.