Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024
Dallas County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Dallas County pays $5,001 a year, an effective rate of 1.41%, far above the U.S. average.
- $5,001
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.41%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +151%
- vs U.S. average
- #27 of 99
- rank in IA
The verdict
Homeowners in Dallas County pay a median $5,001 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.41%, more affordable than 14% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $5,001
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.41%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2688 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +151%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($355,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 107,968. Owner-occupied homes: 29,326.
The median annual property tax in Dallas County is $5,001, which is 73% higher than the Iowa state average and 151% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.41% on a median home value of $355,600. Property taxes represent 4.9% of the median household income in this county.
Why Dallas County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Dallas County pay a median annual property tax of $5,001, far above the national median and far above the Iowa state median. On a $355,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.41% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Dallas County's 1.41% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 14%).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Dallas County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.9% of the $102,379 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Iowa counties by effective rate
Dallas County ranks #27 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (73% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Dallas 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 10.8% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 56% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 37.7%, the median bill rose 22.8% to $5,001: 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 $4,074 to $5,001, a gain of 23%. 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: 20,685 of 29,326 owner-occupied homes (70.5%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 4.9% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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 Dallas County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Dallas County homeowners, 20,685 of 29,326 owner-occupied homes (70.5%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.1% (1,200)
- $800 to $1,499 4.8% (1,421)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.8% (1,416)
- $2,000 to $2,999 11.5% (3,360)
- $3,000 or more 70.5% (20,685)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,244 homes here (4.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Dallas County, mortgaged homeowners pay 28% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Dallas County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Dallas County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Dallas County's median bill is 73% above the Iowa median and 151% above the U.S. median.
Same rate as Iowa, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 1% of the Iowa median, yet the median bill runs 73% above it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to costlier housing produces $5,001 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Dallas County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Dallas County | Iowa Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.9% | - | - |
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.
Is Dallas County's $5,001 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Dallas County's $5,001 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $500/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Iowa.
Dallas County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $5,001 +3.1% | 1.41% |
| 2023 | $4,849 +4.0% | 1.45% |
| 2022 | $4,664 +6.5% | 1.48% |
| 2021 | $4,380 +7.5% | 1.60% |
| 2020 | $4,074 | 1.58% |
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.
Dallas County: tax takes 4.9% of income
Counties near Dallas County's median bill
On effective rate, Dallas County sits nearest Wabash County (IL), Franklin County (KS), Thomas County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Surry County (VA), Richmond County (NC), Roosevelt County (MT).
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
Dallas County: only 10% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 5,270 of 51,740 returns from Dallas County reported real estate taxes, averaging $7,070 - 43% of those reporters sat in the $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 Iowa
Dallas County bill FAQs
- How does Dallas County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Dallas County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.41% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Dallas County, Iowa?
- The median annual property tax in Dallas County is $5,001, an effective rate of 1.41% on a $355,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Dallas County?
- Property taxes in Dallas County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.9% of the $102,379 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Dallas County?
- Dallas County, Iowa scores F (10/100) 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 F (3.47×). 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 Dallas County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Dallas County jumped 22.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $4,074 to $5,001, 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 to do with Dallas County's SPIKE bill
Dallas County's $5,001 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Dallas County ranks #27 of 99 Iowa counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Iowa overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Dallas County's SPIKE median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.41%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $5,001/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Dallas County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Dallas County (STEEP · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP SPIKE
Brazoria County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Dallas County at $5,001/yr; rate 1.66% vs Dallas County 1.41%.
Prince William County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,999/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.94% vs Dallas County 1.41%.
Anchorage Municipality, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,982/yr (near-tied bill ABS $19); rate 1.26% vs Dallas County 1.41%.
Sullivan County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,969/yr (near-tied bill ABS $32); rate 2.00% vs Dallas County 1.41%.
Iowa county set
State ACS overview for every published Iowa county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Dallas County stamps STEEP · SPIKE - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 Dallas County (STEEP · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.