Illinois · County property tax · ACS 2024
Douglas County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Douglas County pays $2,554 a year, an effective rate of 1.70%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,554
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.70%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- +28%
- vs U.S. average
- #64 of 102
- rank in IL
The verdict
Homeowners in Douglas County pay a median $2,554 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.70%, more affordable than 6% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,554
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.70%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2948 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +28%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($150,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Illinois. Population: 19,751. Owner-occupied homes: 5,971.
The median annual property tax in Douglas County is $2,554, which is 52% lower than the Illinois state average and 28% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.70% on a median home value of $150,400. Property taxes represent 3.3% of the median household income in this county.
Douglas County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national headwind
Douglas County's 1.70% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 94% pay more.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Douglas County pay a median annual property tax of $2,554, well above the national median and far below the Illinois state median. On a $150,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.70% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Illinois counties by effective rate
Douglas County ranks #64 of 102 counties in Illinois by effective rate (37% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Douglas County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $77,320 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Douglas 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
Douglas County's effective rate fell 15.6% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 24.8%, leaving the median bill 5.3% higher at $2,554. That rate move is larger than the one in 67% 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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $2,425 to $2,554, a change of 5%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 2,281 of 5,971 owner-occupied homes (38.2%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 3.3% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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 Douglas County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Douglas County homeowners, 2,281 of 5,971 owner-occupied homes (38.2%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.5% (568)
- $800 to $1,499 14.9% (887)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.3% (674)
- $2,000 to $2,999 23.8% (1,419)
- $3,000 or more 38.2% (2,281)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
142 homes here (2.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Illinois handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Douglas County pay a substantially higher bill, 43% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Douglas County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Douglas County's effective rate is higher than 37% of the 102 counties in Illinois - ranking #64 of 102.
Where Douglas County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.70% more affordable than 6% 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
Among the highest-taxed counties in the country
At 1.70%, Douglas County sits in the top 6% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. That is the rate, not the bill: a high rate on a modest home can still produce a smaller cheque than a low rate on an expensive one, which is why the $2,554 median bill is the number to compare against another county.
Douglas County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Douglas County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.3% | - | - |
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.
Douglas County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Douglas County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $150,400 median home carries a $2,554 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $255 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Illinois.
Douglas County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,554 -1.2% | 1.70% |
| 2023 | $2,586 +1.9% | 1.81% |
| 2022 | $2,538 +5.1% | 1.85% |
| 2021 | $2,414 -0.5% | 2.02% |
| 2020 | $2,425 | 2.01% |
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.
Douglas County: tax-to-income at 3.3%
Counties near Douglas County's effective rate
On effective rate, Douglas County sits nearest Barber County (KS), Cloud County (KS), Norton County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Divide County (ND), Obion County (TN), Grant County (OR).
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
Douglas County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 280 of 10,000 returns from Douglas County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,396 - 36% 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 Illinois
Douglas County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Douglas County?
- Douglas County, Illinois scores F (24/100) 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 A+ (1.95×). 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.
- How does Douglas County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Douglas County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.70% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Douglas County, Illinois?
- The median annual property tax in Douglas County is $2,554, an effective rate of 1.70% on a $150,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Douglas County?
- Property taxes in Douglas County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $77,320 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Douglas County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Douglas County ticked up 5.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,425 to $2,554, 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 Douglas County's STEEP rate
Douglas County's $2,554 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Douglas County ranks #64 of 102 Illinois counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Illinois overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Douglas County's STEEP 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: 1.70%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,554/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Douglas County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Douglas County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Honolulu County, HI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,553/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.28% vs Douglas County 1.70%.
Campbell County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,556/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.01% vs Douglas County 1.70%.
Portsmouth city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,557/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.04% vs Douglas County 1.70%.
Umatilla County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,557/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.90% vs Douglas County 1.70%.
Illinois county set
State ACS overview for every published Illinois county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Douglas County stamps STEEP · MID - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 Douglas County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.