South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Day County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Day County pays $1,693 a year, an effective rate of 0.98%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,693
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.98%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -15%
- vs U.S. average
- #41 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Day County pay a median $1,693 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.98%, more affordable than 37% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,693
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.98%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1972 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -15%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($173,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 5,437. Owner-occupied homes: 1,768.
The median annual property tax in Day County is $1,693, which is 38% lower than the South Dakota state average and 15% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.98% on a median home value of $173,600. Property taxes represent 2.6% of the median household income in this county.
Day County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Day County's 0.98% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 37%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the South Dakota median
Homeowners in Day County pay a median annual property tax of $1,693, notably lower than the national median and well below the South Dakota state median. On a $173,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.98% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of South Dakota counties by effective rate
Day County ranks #41 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (38% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Day County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $66,033 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Day 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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Day County rose 57.0%, from $110,600 to $173,600. The effective rate fell 24.6% over the same span, a steeper move than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 18.3%, to $1,693. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 $1,431 to $1,693, a gain of 18%. 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 471 of 1,768 owner-occupied homes (26.6%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 2.6% 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 Day County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Day County homeowners, 471 of 1,768 owner-occupied homes (26.6%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 16.0% (282)
- $800 to $1,499 26.6% (471)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.0% (265)
- $2,000 to $2,999 22.5% (398)
- $3,000 or more 16.7% (295)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
57 homes here (3.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Day County, mortgaged homeowners pay 26% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Day County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Day County's effective rate is higher than 38% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #41 of 66.
Where Day County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.98% more affordable than 37% 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
Same rate as South Dakota, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 8% of the South Dakota median, yet the median bill runs 38% below 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 cheaper housing produces $1,693 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Day County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Day County | South Dakota 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 | 2.6% | - | - |
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.
Day County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Dakota counties.
Day County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,693 +5.9% | 0.98% |
| 2023 | $1,598 +7.6% | 1.03% |
| 2022 | $1,485 -2.7% | 1.10% |
| 2021 | $1,526 +6.6% | 1.26% |
| 2020 | $1,431 | 1.29% |
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.
Day County: tax-to-income at 2.6%
Counties near Day County's effective rate
On effective rate, Day County sits nearest Somerset County (PA), Vinton County (OH), Miami County (OH).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Hamilton County (TN), Huntingdon County (PA), Kankakee County (IL).
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
Day County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 50 of 2,680 returns from Day County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,400 - 60% 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 South Dakota
Day County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Day County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Day County is $1,693, an effective rate of 0.98% on a $173,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Day County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Day County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.98% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Day County?
- Day County, South Dakota scores D (45/100) 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+ (2.63×). 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 Day County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Day County climbed 18.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,431 to $1,693, 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 Day County?
- Property taxes in Day County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $66,033 median household income.
What to do with Day County's UNDER rate
Inside South Dakota, Day County's $1,693 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. South Dakota overview →
Day County ranks #41 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 Day 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: 0.98%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,693/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Day County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Day County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Ellsworth County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Day County at $1,693/yr; rate 1.47% vs Day County 0.98%.
Deuel County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,694/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.82% vs Day County 0.98%.
Oktibbeha County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,691/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.71% vs Day County 0.98%.
Renville County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,691/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.04% vs Day County 0.98%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Day 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 Day County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.