Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Custer County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Custer County pays $2,264 a year, an effective rate of 1.03%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,264
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.03%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +14%
- vs U.S. average
- #7 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Custer County pay a median $2,264 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.03%, more affordable than 33% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,264
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.03%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2102 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +14%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($219,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Custer County, MT
35/100
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 Custer County
Median home value relative to Custer County's median income
Custer County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Custer County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median tax as a share of Custer County's median household income
Custer County affordability profile (scored ACS dimensions)
Read the chart values
- Mortgage premium: 50/100 (C-) · +$299
- Housing pressure: 44/100 (D) · 3.10×
- Rate relief: 34/100 (F) · 1.03%
- Bill size: 30/100 (F) · $2,264/yr
- Income room: 29/100 (F) · 3.2%
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Owner-occupied homes: 3,520.
The median annual property tax in Custer County is $2,264, which is 16% lower than the Montana state average and 14% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.03% on a median home value of $219,100. Property taxes represent 3.2% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Custer County
Primary signal
Low among Montana counties by effective rate
Custer County ranks #7 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (88% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 2
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Custer County's 1.03% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 33%).
Decision signal 3
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Custer County pay a median annual property tax of $2,264, notably higher than the national median and notably lower than the Montana state median. On a $219,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.03% 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 Custer County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $70,605 median household income.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Custer 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 held while the market moved
Custer County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 1.9% down, against a median home value that rose 25.6%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 23.2%, from $1,838 to $2,264.
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 drifted upward across 2020-2024, from $1,838 to $2,264, a gain of 23%. That is roughly the pace at which reassessments and ordinary budget growth push a bill along, so an owner who has held the same home through the period will recognise the increase without being surprised by it.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 1,034 of 3,520 owner-occupied homes (29.4%) are assessed above $3,000 a year. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 3.2% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.
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 Custer County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Custer County homeowners, 1,034 of 3,520 owner-occupied homes (29.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 10.3% (361)
- $800 to $1,499 19.2% (677)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.5% (406)
- $2,000 to $2,999 24.7% (868)
- $3,000 or more 29.4% (1,034)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
174 homes here (4.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Custer County, mortgaged homeowners pay 14% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
How Custer County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Custer County's effective rate is higher than 88% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #7 of 56 for property tax burden.
Where Custer County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.03% more affordable than 33% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Custer County taxes property at 1.03%, about 43% above the Montana average, yet its median bill of $2,264 lands roughly 16% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Custer County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Custer County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.2% | - | - |
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 Custer County property tax bill is too high?
On Custer County's published figures, a $219,100 median home carries a $2,264 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $226 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 Montana.
Property Tax History
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,264 +1.0% | 1.03% |
| 2023 | $2,242 +5.4% | 1.10% |
| 2022 | $2,127 +6.8% | 1.06% |
| 2021 | $1,991 +8.3% | 1.07% |
| 2020 | $1,838 | 1.05% |
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 higher than the national average of 0.92% puts Custer County in the "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 Custer County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Custer County sits nearest St. Louis city (MO), St. Louis County (MN), Mower County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Hennepin County (MN), Clark County (NV), Ida County (IA).
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 Custer County
Of the 5,530 federal returns filed from Custer County in 2022, 180 (3.3% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $3,483 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $50-75k, who accounted for 33% 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 Montana
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Custer County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Custer County? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Custer County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Custer County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Custer County, Montana? ▼
What to do with Custer County's numbers
- At Custer County's 1.03% effective rate, a $219,100 home implies about $2,264/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
- Custer County ranks #7 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state board. Montana overview →
- If Custer County's assessment looks high versus the $219,100 typical home, check Montana'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 ($219,100); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
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 Custer County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-02.