Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Dawson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Dawson County pays $2,110 a year, an effective rate of 1.14%, modestly above the U.S. average.
- $2,110
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.14%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +6%
- vs U.S. average
- #5 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Dawson County pay a median $2,110 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.14%, more affordable than 26% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,110
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.14%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2312 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +6%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($185,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 8,827. Owner-occupied homes: 2,599.
The median annual property tax in Dawson County is $2,110, which is 22% lower than the Montana state average and 6% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.14% on a median home value of $185,300. Property taxes represent 3.0% of the median household income in this county.
Dawson County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Dawson County's 1.14% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 26%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Montana counties by effective rate
Dawson County ranks #5 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (91% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the Montana median
Homeowners in Dawson County pay a median annual property tax of $2,110, modestly above the national median and notably lower than the Montana state median. On a $185,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.14% 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 Dawson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $71,334 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Dawson 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 7.1% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 71% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 21.3%, the median bill rose 12.7% to $2,110: 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 $1,872 to $2,110, a gain of 13%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The plurality of owner-occupied homes here falls in the $2,000 to $2,999 band, at 724 of 2,599 (27.9%). This shows the reported distribution around the county median, while individual assessments can vary.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 3.0% 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 Dawson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Dawson County homeowners, 724 of 2,599 owner-occupied homes (27.9%), pays $2,000 to $2,999 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 12.2% (317)
- $800 to $1,499 17.5% (454)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.3% (397)
- $2,000 to $2,999 27.9% (724)
- $3,000 or more 23.2% (603)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
104 homes here (4.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Dawson County, mortgaged homeowners pay 20% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Dawson County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Dawson County's effective rate is higher than 91% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #5 of 56.
Where Dawson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.14% more affordable than 26% 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
Dawson County taxes property at 1.14%, about 58% above the Montana average, yet its median bill of $2,110 lands roughly 22% 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.
Dawson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Dawson 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 | 3.0% | - | - |
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.
Dawson County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Dawson County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,110 -4.0% | 1.14% |
| 2023 | $2,199 +1.3% | 1.17% |
| 2022 | $2,171 +11.8% | 1.10% |
| 2021 | $1,942 +3.7% | 1.27% |
| 2020 | $1,872 | 1.23% |
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.
Dawson County: tax-to-income at 3.0%
Counties near Dawson County's effective rate
On effective rate, Dawson County sits nearest Hennepin County (MN), St. Clair County (MI), Pottawatomie County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Ulster County (NY), Sevier County (TN), Perry County (MS).
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
Dawson County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 170 of 4,060 returns from Dawson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,782 - 41% 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 Montana
Dawson County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Dawson County?
- Dawson County, Montana scores F (37/100) 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- (2.60×). 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.
- What is the average property tax in Dawson County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Dawson County is $2,110, an effective rate of 1.14% on a $185,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Dawson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Dawson County run modestly above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.14% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Dawson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Dawson County climbed 12.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,872 to $2,110, 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 Dawson County?
- Property taxes in Dawson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $71,334 median household income.
What to do with Dawson County's PAR rate
Inside Montana, Dawson County's $2,110 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Montana overview →
Dawson County ranks #5 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Dawson 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: 1.14%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,110/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Dawson County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Dawson County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Armstrong County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,111/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.23% vs Dawson County 1.14%.
Marquette County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,109/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.97% vs Dawson County 1.14%.
Menard County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,111/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.95% vs Dawson County 1.14%.
Kearny County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,108/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.05% vs Dawson County 1.14%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Dawson County stamps PAR · 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 Dawson County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.