Arkansas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Desha County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Desha County pays $493 a year, an effective rate of 0.54%, far below the U.S. average.
- $493
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.54%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -75%
- vs U.S. average
- #29 of 75
- rank in AR
The verdict
Homeowners in Desha County pay a median $493 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.54%, more affordable than 79% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $493
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.54%
- Effective rate on median home
- #659 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -75%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($90,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Arkansas. Population: 10,786. Owner-occupied homes: 2,619.
The median annual property tax in Desha County is $493, which is 53% lower than the Arkansas state average and 75% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.54% on a median home value of $90,900. Property taxes represent 1.3% of the median household income in this county.
Desha County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Desha County's 0.54% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 79%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Desha County pay a median annual property tax of $493, far below the national median and far below the Arkansas state median. On a $90,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.54% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Desha County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $37,662 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Arkansas counties by effective rate
Desha County ranks #29 of 75 counties in Arkansas by effective rate (61% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Desha 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 held while the market moved
Desha County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 8.6% up, against a median home value that rose 10.2%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 19.7%, from $412 to $493.
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 $412 to $493, a gain of 20%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 1,708 of 2,619 owner-occupied homes (65.2%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 1.3% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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 Desha County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Desha County homeowners, 1,708 of 2,619 owner-occupied homes (65.2%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 65.2% (1,708)
- $800 to $1,499 15.7% (411)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.5% (170)
- $2,000 to $2,999 4.0% (106)
- $3,000 or more 1.2% (31)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
193 homes here (7.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Arkansas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Desha County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+63%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Desha County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Desha County's effective rate is higher than 61% of the 75 counties in Arkansas - ranking #29 of 75.
Where Desha County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.54% Among the most affordable more affordable than 79% 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 Arkansas, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 2% of the Arkansas median, yet the median bill runs 53% 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 $493 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Desha County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Desha County | Arkansas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.3% | - | - |
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.
Desha County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Arkansas counties.
Desha County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $493 -4.6% | 0.54% |
| 2023 | $517 +7.9% | 0.58% |
| 2022 | $479 +4.8% | 0.54% |
| 2021 | $457 +10.9% | 0.54% |
| 2020 | $412 | 0.50% |
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.
Desha County: tax takes only 1.3% of income
Counties near Desha County's effective rate
On effective rate, Desha County sits nearest Holmes County (FL), Clearwater County (ID), Elmore County (ID).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Montgomery County (TN), Carbon County (WY), Fentress County (TN).
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
Desha County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 130 of 4,440 returns from Desha County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,092 - 31% 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 Arkansas
Desha County rate FAQs
- How does Desha County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Desha County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.54% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Desha County, Arkansas?
- The median annual property tax in Desha County is $493, an effective rate of 0.54% on a $90,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Desha County?
- Desha County, Arkansas scores A- (82/100) 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 bill size at A+ ($493/yr). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Desha County?
- Property taxes in Desha County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $37,662 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Desha County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Desha County climbed 19.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $412 to $493, 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 Desha County's QUIET rate
Desha County's $493 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is light here: about 1.3% of Desha County's $37,662 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Desha 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: 0.54%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $493/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Desha County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Desha County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Lafayette County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $494/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.61% vs Desha County 0.54%.
DeKalb County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $496/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.32% vs Desha County 0.54%.
Marlboro County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $496/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.60% vs Desha County 0.54%.
Lawrence County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $497/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.29% vs Desha County 0.54%.
Arkansas county set
State ACS overview for every published Arkansas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Desha County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - 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 Desha County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.