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Nebraska · County property tax · ACS 2024

Custer County Property Taxes

The median homeowner in Custer County pays $1,838 a year, an effective rate of 1.16%, modestly below the U.S. average.

$1,838
Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
1.16%
Effective rate · Above-median rate
-8%
vs U.S. average
#63 of 93
rank in NE

The verdict

Homeowners in Custer County pay a median $1,838 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.16%, more affordable than 25% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).

$1,838
Median annual tax bill, 2024
1.16%
Effective rate on median home
#2350 of 3135
U.S. counties by tax burden
-8%
vs the national average bill

Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($157,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.

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Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Nebraska. Population: 10,518. Owner-occupied homes: 3,104.

The median annual property tax in Custer County is $1,838, which is 48% lower than the Nebraska state average and 8% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.16% on a median home value of $157,800. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.

Custer County's rate standing among U.S. counties

Primary signal

The effective rate sits near the national middle

Custer County's 1.16% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 25%).

Decision signal 2

The bill sits below the Nebraska median

Homeowners in Custer County pay a median annual property tax of $1,838, modestly below the national median and well below the Nebraska state median. On a $157,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.16% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.

Decision signal 3

Near the middle of Nebraska counties by effective rate

Custer County ranks #63 of 93 counties in Nebraska by effective rate (32% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).

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 2.7% of the $67,906 median household income.

Informational notice

Figures describe the median homeowner household in Custer 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.

Most of the market's rise reached the bill

The effective rate here moved 10.1% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 60% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 35.0%, the median bill rose 21.4% to $1,838: 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.

Median Annual Tax
$1,838
Above-median bill
-48% vs State -8% vs US
Median Home Value
$157,800
-34% vs State -31% vs US
Effective Tax Rate
1.16%
Above-median rate
-22% vs State +26% vs US

How to read this county's bill

Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,514 to $1,838, a gain of 21%. 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: 693 of 3,104 owner-occupied homes (22.3%) 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.

Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 2.7% 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, 693 of 3,104 owner-occupied homes (22.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.

  • Less than $800 19.0% (591)
  • $800 to $1,499 19.5% (606)
  • $1,500 to $1,999 13.1% (408)
  • $2,000 to $2,999 20.8% (647)
  • $3,000 or more 22.3% (693)

Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.

159 homes here (5.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Nebraska handles assessments and appeals.

With vs Without Mortgage

With Mortgage
$2,015
$168/mo
Without Mortgage
$1,624
$135/mo

In Custer County, mortgaged homeowners pay 24% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.

Custer County's effective rate vs peers

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.

Custer County 1.16%
Nebraska average 1.49%
U.S. average 0.92%

Custer County's effective rate is higher than 32% of the 93 counties in Nebraska - ranking #63 of 93.

Where Custer County sits among every U.S. county

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)

1.16% more affordable than 25% of 3,135 U.S. counties

Show national distribution This county 0.00% 4.00% every U.S. county, bucketed by value

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 Nebraska on both measures

Custer County's effective rate runs 22% under the Nebraska median and its bill 48% 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 $1,838 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Nebraska norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.

Custer County vs Benchmarks

Metric Custer County Nebraska Avg U.S. Avg
Median Annual Tax Above-median bill $1,838 $3,549 $1,993
Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate 1.16% 1.49% 0.92%
Median Home Value $157,800 $238,600 $227,791
Tax as % of income Above-median income burden 2.7% - -

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.

Custer County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Nebraska counties.

Custer County rate trail · PAR

$1,400$1,500$1,600$1,700$1,800$1,900 20202021202220232024 $1,838
Custer County ACS median tax 2020–2024: +21% ($1,514 → $1,838).
Year Median Tax (vs prior release) Effective Rate
2024 $1,838 -0.6% 1.16%
2023 $1,849 +13.6% 1.15%
2022 $1,628 +11.7% 1.22%
2021 $1,458 -3.7% 1.26%
2020 $1,514 1.30%

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.

Custer County: tax-to-income at 2.7%

Tax-to-Income Ratio
2.7%
of median household income
Median Income
$67,906
per year
Monthly Tax
$153
per month

Counties near Custer County's effective rate

On effective rate, Custer County sits nearest Atchison County (MO), Ontonagon County (MI), Monroe County (MI).

On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Fairfax County (VA), Whitman County (WA), New Castle County (DE).

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.

Custer County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax

Tax year 2022: 100 of 5,180 returns from Custer County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,290 - 40% of those reporters sat in the $50-75k 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 Nebraska

View all counties in Nebraska →

Custer County rate FAQs

How does Custer County property tax compare to the national average?
Property taxes in Custer County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.16% versus 0.92% nationally.
What is the average property tax in Custer County, Nebraska?
The median annual property tax in Custer County is $1,838, an effective rate of 1.16% on a $157,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
What is the tax affordability score for Custer County?
Custer County, Nebraska scores D (41/100) 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+ (2.32×). 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.
Are property taxes increasing in Custer County?
The ACS median property-tax bill for Custer County jumped 21.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,514 to $1,838, 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 Custer County?
Property taxes in Custer County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $67,906 median household income.

What to do with Custer County's PAR rate

Inside Nebraska, Custer County's $1,838 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Nebraska overview →

Custer County ranks #63 of 93 Nebraska counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Nebraska overview →

Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)

Rate-first peers for Custer 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: 1.16%.

Similar median bill

Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,838/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.

Read with Custer County

Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Custer County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.

PAR MID

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 Custer County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.