Ohio · County property tax · ACS 2024
Darke County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Darke County pays $1,584 a year, an effective rate of 0.91%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,584
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.91%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -21%
- vs U.S. average
- #79 of 88
- rank in OH
The verdict
Homeowners in Darke County pay a median $1,584 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.91%, more affordable than 42% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,584
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.91%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1821 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -21%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($173,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Ohio. Population: 51,594. Owner-occupied homes: 15,413.
The median annual property tax in Darke County is $1,584, which is 44% lower than the Ohio state average and 21% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.91% on a median home value of $173,200. Property taxes represent 2.5% of the median household income in this county.
Darke County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Darke County's 0.91% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 42%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Ohio median
Homeowners in Darke County pay a median annual property tax of $1,584, notably lower than the national median and well below the Ohio state median. On a $173,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.91% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Ohio counties by effective rate
Darke County ranks #79 of 88 counties in Ohio by effective rate (10% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Darke County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $64,486 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Darke 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Darke County's effective rate fell 14.1% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 38.9%, leaving the median bill 19.3% higher at $1,584. That rate move is larger than the one in 59% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 $1,328 to $1,584, 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 5,146 of 15,413 owner-occupied homes (33.4%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 2.5% of median household income. The gap between those two positions is the whole story on this page.
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 Darke County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Darke County homeowners, 5,146 of 15,413 owner-occupied homes (33.4%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 13.2% (2,031)
- $800 to $1,499 33.4% (5,146)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.7% (1,965)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.1% (2,939)
- $3,000 or more 19.0% (2,936)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
396 homes here (2.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Ohio handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Darke County, mortgaged homeowners pay 15% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Darke County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Darke County's effective rate is higher than 10% of the 88 counties in Ohio - ranking #79 of 88.
Where Darke County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.91% more affordable than 42% 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 Ohio on both measures
Darke County's effective rate runs 31% under the Ohio median and its bill 44% 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 $1,584 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Ohio norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Darke County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Darke County | Ohio Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.5% | - | - |
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.
Darke County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Ohio counties.
Darke County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,584 +0.8% | 0.91% |
| 2023 | $1,572 +5.9% | 0.93% |
| 2022 | $1,485 +7.5% | 0.94% |
| 2021 | $1,381 +4.0% | 1.03% |
| 2020 | $1,328 | 1.06% |
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.
Darke County: tax-to-income at 2.5%
Counties near Darke County's effective rate
On effective rate, Darke County sits nearest Griggs County (ND), Grant County (ND), Emmons County (ND).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Breckinridge County (KY), Smith County (TX), Portsmouth city (VA).
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
Darke County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 520 of 24,840 returns from Darke County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,704 - 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 Ohio
Darke County rate FAQs
- How does Darke County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Darke County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.91% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Darke County, Ohio?
- The median annual property tax in Darke County is $1,584, an effective rate of 0.91% on a $173,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Darke County?
- Darke County, Ohio scores C- (51/100) 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 C+ (2.69×). 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 Darke County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Darke County climbed 19.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,328 to $1,584, 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 Darke County?
- Property taxes in Darke County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $64,486 median household income.
What to do with Darke County's UNDER rate
Inside Ohio, Darke County's $1,584 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Ohio overview →
Darke County ranks #79 of 88 Ohio counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Ohio overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Darke 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: 0.91%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,584/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Darke County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Darke County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Osceola County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Darke County at $1,584/yr; rate 1.02% vs Darke County 0.91%.
Spink County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Darke County at $1,584/yr; rate 1.28% vs Darke County 0.91%.
Brooks County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,583/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.14% vs Darke County 0.91%.
Hancock County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,583/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.71% vs Darke County 0.91%.
Ohio county set
State ACS overview for every published Ohio county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Darke 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 Darke County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.