Colorado · County property tax · ACS 2024
Denver County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Denver County pays $2,751 a year, an effective rate of 0.45%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,751
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.45%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- +38%
- vs U.S. average
- #20 of 64
- rank in CO
The verdict
Homeowners in Denver County pay a median $2,751 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.45%, more affordable than 89% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,751
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.45%
- Effective rate on median home
- #359 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +38%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($616,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Colorado. Population: 718,877. Owner-occupied homes: 163,555.
The median annual property tax in Denver County is $2,751, which is 6% higher than the Colorado state average and 38% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.45% on a median home value of $616,000. Property taxes represent 2.9% of the median household income in this county.
Denver County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Denver County's 0.45% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 89%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Denver County pay a median annual property tax of $2,751, well above the national median and modestly above the Colorado state median. On a $616,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.45% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Colorado counties by effective rate
Denver County ranks #20 of 64 counties in Colorado by effective rate (69% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Denver County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.9% of the $94,718 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Denver 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 44.1%, the median bill rose 33.9% to $2,751: 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 34% from $2,055 to $2,751. 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: 69,594 of 163,555 owner-occupied homes (42.6%) 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.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 2.9% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
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 Denver County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Denver County homeowners, 69,594 of 163,555 owner-occupied homes (42.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.0% (6,532)
- $800 to $1,499 11.4% (18,668)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.6% (23,860)
- $2,000 to $2,999 25.0% (40,906)
- $3,000 or more 42.6% (69,594)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
3,995 homes here (2.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Colorado handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Denver County pay about the same bill, a 5% gap.
Denver County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Denver County's effective rate is higher than 69% of the 64 counties in Colorado - ranking #20 of 64.
Where Denver County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.45% Among the most affordable more affordable than 89% 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 Denver County moved from $2,055 in the 2020 release to $2,751 in 2024, a change of about 34%. 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.
Denver County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Denver County | Colorado Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.9% | - | - |
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.
Denver County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Colorado counties.
Denver County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,751 +6.0% | 0.45% |
| 2023 | $2,596 +6.1% | 0.44% |
| 2022 | $2,447 +9.5% | 0.45% |
| 2021 | $2,234 +8.7% | 0.49% |
| 2020 | $2,055 | 0.48% |
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.
Denver County: tax-to-income at 2.9%
Counties near Denver County's effective rate
On effective rate, Denver County sits nearest Yell County (AR), Cleburne County (AR), Walton County (FL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Jerauld County (SD), Clallam County (WA), Cottonwood County (MN).
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
Denver County: only 11% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 43,540 of 389,020 returns from Denver County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,129 - 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 Colorado
Denver County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Denver County, Colorado?
- The median annual property tax in Denver County is $2,751, an effective rate of 0.45% on a $616,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Denver County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Denver County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.45% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Denver County?
- Denver County, Colorado 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 rate relief at A (0.45%). 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 Denver County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Denver County jumped 33.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,055 to $2,751, 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 Denver County?
- Property taxes in Denver County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.9% of the $94,718 median household income.
What to do with Denver County's QUIET rate
Denver County's $2,751 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Denver County ranks #20 of 64 Colorado counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Colorado overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Denver County's QUIET 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: 0.45%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,751/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Denver County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Denver County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Douglas County, NV
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,750/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.45% vs Denver County 0.45%.
Franklin County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,750/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.73% vs Denver County 0.45%.
Taylor County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,748/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.39% vs Denver County 0.45%.
Bond County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,747/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.89% vs Denver County 0.45%.
Colorado county set
State ACS overview for every published Colorado county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Denver County stamps QUIET · 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 Denver County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.