South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Custer County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Custer County pays $2,879 a year, an effective rate of 0.77%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,879
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.77%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +44%
- vs U.S. average
- #61 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Custer County pay a median $2,879 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.77%, more affordable than 53% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,879
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.77%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1476 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 ($372,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 8,892. Owner-occupied homes: 3,809.
The median annual property tax in Custer County is $2,879, which is 6% higher than the South Dakota state average and 44% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.77% on a median home value of $372,100. Property taxes represent 3.4% 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 0.77% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 53%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Custer County pay a median annual property tax of $2,879, well above the national median and modestly above the South Dakota state median. On a $372,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.77% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among South Dakota counties by effective rate
Custer County ranks #61 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (8% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 12.9%, from $2,549 to $2,879. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
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 3.4% of the $84,112 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 38% from $2,087 to $2,879. 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: 1,734 of 3,809 owner-occupied homes (45.5%) 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.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 3.4% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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, 1,734 of 3,809 owner-occupied homes (45.5%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 6.6% (253)
- $800 to $1,499 12.7% (482)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.2% (504)
- $2,000 to $2,999 17.1% (653)
- $3,000 or more 45.5% (1,734)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
183 homes here (4.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Custer County, mortgaged homeowners pay 21% 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's effective rate is higher than 8% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #61 of 66.
Where Custer 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Custer County moved from $2,087 in the 2020 release to $2,879 in 2024, a change of about 38%. 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.
Custer County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Custer County | South Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.4% | - | - |
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.
Custer County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Dakota counties.
Custer County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,879 +12.9% | 0.77% |
| 2023 | $2,549 +4.5% | 0.78% |
| 2022 | $2,439 +12.7% | 0.83% |
| 2021 | $2,165 +3.7% | 0.85% |
| 2020 | $2,087 | 0.90% |
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 3.4%
Counties near Custer County's effective rate
On effective rate, Custer County sits nearest Wasco County (OR), Columbus County (NC), Anson County (NC).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Brunswick County (NC), Montgomery County (AL), Claiborne 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
Custer County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 260 of 4,800 returns from Custer County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,846 - 31% 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 South Dakota
Custer County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Custer County?
- Custer County, South Dakota scores F (31/100) 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 rate relief at C- (0.77%). 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 Custer County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Custer County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.77% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Custer County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Custer County is $2,879, an effective rate of 0.77% on a $372,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Custer County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Custer County is recorded at $2,879 in the 2024 5-year release against $2,087 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 3,809 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- 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 3.4% of the $84,112 median household income.
What to do with Custer County's UNDER rate
Custer County's $2,879 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Custer County ranks #61 of 66 South Dakota counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. South Dakota overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Custer County's UNDER 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: 0.77%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,879/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 (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Mercer County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,878/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.96% vs Custer County 0.77%.
Portage County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,877/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.27% vs Custer County 0.77%.
Wharton County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,881/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.52% vs Custer County 0.77%.
Midland County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,875/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.47% vs Custer County 0.77%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Custer 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.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Custer County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.