Missouri · County property tax · ACS 2024
Cole County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Cole County pays $1,769 a year, an effective rate of 0.77%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,769
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.77%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -11%
- vs U.S. average
- #42 of 115
- rank in MO
The verdict
Homeowners in Cole County pay a median $1,769 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.77%, more affordable than 53% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,769
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.77%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1476 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -11%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($229,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Cole County, MO
56/100
5 ACS dimensions · release 2024
Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Cole County
Median tax as a share of Cole County's median household income
Cole County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Cole County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median home value relative to Cole County's median income
Read the chart values
- Mortgage premium: 88/100 (A) · +$9
- Income room: 54/100 (C-) · 2.4%
- Rate relief: 53/100 (C-) · 0.77%
- Bill size: 45/100 (D) · $1,769/yr
- Housing pressure: 45/100 (D) · 3.07×
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Missouri. Population: 77,032. Owner-occupied homes: 21,098.
The median annual property tax in Cole County is $1,769, which is 9% lower than the Missouri state average and 11% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.77% on a median home value of $229,600. Property taxes represent 2.4% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Cole County
Primary signal
Near the middle of Missouri counties by effective rate
Cole County ranks #42 of 115 counties in Missouri by effective rate (63% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 2
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Cole County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $74,876 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Cole County pay a median annual property tax of $1,769, notably lower than the national median and modestly below the Missouri state median. On a $229,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.77% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Cole County's 0.77% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 53%).
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Cole County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making decisions that depend on these numbers.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 11.1% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 55% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 35.3%, the median bill rose 20.3% to $1,769: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 $1,471 to $1,769, a gain of 20%. 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 6,235 of 21,098 owner-occupied homes (29.6%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Above-median earnings meet a slightly-below-median rate, and the median bill amounts to 2.4% of median household income. That is the comfortable middle of this dataset, and comfortable middles are easy to overlook when only rankings get published.
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 Cole County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Cole County homeowners, 6,235 of 21,098 owner-occupied homes (29.6%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.3% (1,538)
- $800 to $1,499 29.6% (6,235)
- $1,500 to $1,999 20.8% (4,391)
- $2,000 to $2,999 22.5% (4,745)
- $3,000 or more 15.9% (3,355)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
834 homes here (4.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Missouri handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Cole County pay about the same bill, a 1% gap.
How Cole County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Cole County's effective rate is higher than 63% of the 115 counties in Missouri - ranking #42 of 115 for property tax burden.
Where Cole County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.77% more affordable than 53% 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
Close to the Missouri median on both measures
Rate and bill both land within 10% of the Missouri medians here, which makes Cole County a reasonable stand-in for the state when comparing against counties elsewhere. It also means the county-level figure adds little beyond the state figure for this particular comparison; the $1,769 median bill and the state median tell substantially the same story.
Cole County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Cole County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.4% | - | - |
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.
Cole County stamps UNDER · MID - still check the parcel card
On Cole County's published figures (UNDER · MID), a $229,600 median home carries a $1,769 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $177 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in Missouri.
Property Tax History · UNDER · MID
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,769 +2.4% | 0.77% |
| 2023 | $1,728 +0.6% | 0.81% |
| 2022 | $1,718 +8.3% | 0.86% |
| 2021 | $1,586 +7.8% | 0.91% |
| 2020 | $1,471 | 0.87% |
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.
Tax Burden
Tax Affordability Score
An effective rate notably lower than the national average of 0.92% puts Cole County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.
How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Cole County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Cole County sits nearest Tippah County (MS), Pope County (MN), Otter Tail County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Beaufort County (NC), Rio Arriba County (NM), McMinn County (TN).
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
What tax filers report in Cole County
Of the 37,770 federal returns filed from Cole County in 2022, 1,450 (3.8% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $3,631 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 34% of the county's reporting returns.
Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Missouri
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Cole County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Cole County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Cole County? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Cole County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Cole County, Missouri? ▼
What to do with Cole County's numbers
- At Cole County's 0.77% effective rate, a $229,600 home implies about $1,769/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
- Cole County ranks #42 of 115 Missouri counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Missouri overview →
- If Cole County's assessment looks high versus the $229,600 typical home, check Missouri's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition
Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($229,600); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
Nationwide peers by effective rate & median bill
Two PlainPropertyTax-derived comparison paths for Cole County, both outside Missouri so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice. Axes stay disjoint: median-bill peers exclude the effective-rate peer set.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.77%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,769/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Cole County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Cole County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Fergus County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Cole County at $1,769/yr; rate 0.75% vs Cole County 0.77%.
Richland County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Cole County at $1,769/yr; rate 1.58% vs Cole County 0.77%.
Brown County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,770/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.11% vs Cole County 0.77%.
Iron County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,768/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.07% vs Cole County 0.77%.
Missouri county set
State ACS overview for every published Missouri county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Cole County stamps UNDER · MID - 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.
Share and download this county card
Editorial standards and provenance
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Cole County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.