Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Cooke County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Cooke County pays $2,864 a year, an effective rate of 1.19%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,864
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.19%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +44%
- vs U.S. average
- #125 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Cooke County pay a median $2,864 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.19%, more affordable than 24% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,864
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.19%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2395 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +44%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($240,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Cooke County, TX
22/100
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.
Median home value relative to Cooke County's median income
Cooke County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Cooke County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median tax as a share of Cooke County's median household income
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Cooke County
Read the chart values
- Housing pressure: 39/100 (F) · 3.25×
- Rate relief: 24/100 (F) · 1.19%
- Bill size: 19/100 (F) · $2,864/yr
- Income room: 18/100 (F) · 3.9%
- Mortgage premium: 14/100 (F) · +$829
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 43,046. Owner-occupied homes: 11,873.
The median annual property tax in Cooke County is $2,864, which is 32% lower than the Texas state average and 44% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.19% on a median home value of $240,400. Property taxes represent 3.9% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Cooke County
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Cooke County pay a median annual property tax of $2,864, well above the national median and well below the Texas state median. On a $240,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.19% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Cooke County's 1.19% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 24%).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Cooke County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.9% of the $73,932 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Texas counties by effective rate
Cooke County ranks #125 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (50% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Cooke 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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Cooke County rose 44.2%, from $166,700 to $240,400. The effective rate fell 17.8% over the same span, a steeper move than in 76% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 18.5%, to $2,864. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 $2,416 to $2,864, a gain of 19%. 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: 5,347 of 11,873 owner-occupied homes (45.0%) 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 3.9% 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 Cooke County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Cooke County homeowners, 5,347 of 11,873 owner-occupied homes (45.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 12.1% (1,442)
- $800 to $1,499 10.5% (1,243)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.2% (1,094)
- $2,000 to $2,999 18.1% (2,154)
- $3,000 or more 45.0% (5,347)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
593 homes here (5.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Cooke County pay a substantially higher bill, 33% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
How Cooke County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Cooke County's effective rate is higher than 50% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #125 of 250 for property tax burden.
Where Cooke County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.19% more affordable than 24% 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
Below Texas on both measures
Cooke County's effective rate runs 20% under the Texas median and its bill 32% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $2,864 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Texas norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Cooke County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Cooke County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.9% | - | - |
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.
Think your Cooke County MID bill is out of line at PAR?
On Cooke County's published figures (PAR · MID), a $240,400 median home carries a $2,864 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $286 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 Texas.
Property Tax History · PAR · MID
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,864 +2.5% | 1.19% |
| 2023 | $2,794 +5.6% | 1.24% |
| 2022 | $2,647 +6.9% | 1.28% |
| 2021 | $2,477 +2.5% | 1.44% |
| 2020 | $2,416 | 1.45% |
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 well above the national average of 0.92% puts Cooke County in the "Moderate" 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 Cooke County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Cooke County sits nearest Crawford County (OH), Clark County (OH), Foster County (ND).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Huron County (OH), Jennings County (IN), Natchitoches Parish (LA).
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 Cooke County
Of the 20,140 federal returns filed from Cooke County in 2022, 1,080 (5.4% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $7,807 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $200k+, who accounted for 38% 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 Texas
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Cooke County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Cooke County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Cooke County? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Cooke County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Cooke County, Texas? ▼
What to do with Cooke County's numbers
- Cooke County's $2,864 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
- Cooke County ranks #125 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
- If Cooke County's assessment looks high versus the $240,400 typical home, check Texas'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 ($240,400); 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 Cooke County, both outside Texas 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: 1.19%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,864/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Cooke County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Cooke County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Tuolumne County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Cooke County at $2,864/yr; rate 0.66% vs Cooke County 1.19%.
Burleigh County, ND
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,863/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.88% vs Cooke County 1.19%.
Carlton County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,862/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.17% vs Cooke County 1.19%.
San Patricio County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,866/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.49% vs Cooke County 1.19%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Cooke County stamps PAR · 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.
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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 Cooke County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.