South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Douglas County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Douglas County pays $1,653 a year, an effective rate of 0.99%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,653
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.99%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -17%
- vs U.S. average
- #37 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Douglas County pay a median $1,653 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.99%, more affordable than 36% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,653
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.99%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2004 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -17%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($166,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 2,828. Owner-occupied homes: 873.
The median annual property tax in Douglas County is $1,653, which is 39% lower than the South Dakota state average and 17% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.99% on a median home value of $166,900. Property taxes represent 1.9% of the median household income in this county.
Douglas County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Douglas County's 0.99% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 36%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the South Dakota median
Homeowners in Douglas County pay a median annual property tax of $1,653, notably lower than the national median and well below the South Dakota state median. On a $166,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.99% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Douglas County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $86,442 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 12.8%, from $1,466 to $1,653. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Near the middle of South Dakota counties by effective rate
Douglas County ranks #37 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (44% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 37% from $1,205 to $1,653. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 236 of 873 owner-occupied homes (27.0%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 1.9% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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, 236 of 873 owner-occupied homes (27.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 15.8% (138)
- $800 to $1,499 27.0% (236)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.6% (145)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.7% (111)
- $3,000 or more 23.7% (207)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
36 homes here (4.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Douglas County, mortgaged homeowners pay 11% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
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 44% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #37 of 66.
Where Douglas County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.99% more affordable than 36% 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 Douglas County moved from $1,205 in the 2020 release to $1,653 in 2024, a change of about 37%. 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.
Douglas County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Douglas 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 Below-median income burden | 1.9% | - | - |
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.
Douglas County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Dakota counties.
Douglas County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,653 +12.8% | 0.99% |
| 2023 | $1,466 +9.6% | 1.17% |
| 2022 | $1,337 +6.3% | 1.11% |
| 2021 | $1,258 +4.4% | 1.20% |
| 2020 | $1,205 | 1.43% |
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 takes only 1.9% of income
Counties near Douglas County's effective rate
On effective rate, Douglas County sits nearest Juniata County (PA), Forest County (PA), Hocking County (OH).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Bosque County (TX), Lancaster County (SC), Tishomingo 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
Douglas County: only 1% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 20 of 1,340 returns from Douglas County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,500 - 100% 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
Douglas County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Douglas County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Douglas County is $1,653, an effective rate of 0.99% on a $166,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Douglas County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Douglas County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.99% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Douglas County?
- Douglas County, South Dakota scores C (58/100) 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+ (1.93×). 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 Douglas County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Douglas County is recorded at $1,653 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,205 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 873 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Douglas County?
- Property taxes in Douglas County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $86,442 median household income.
What to do with Douglas County's UNDER rate
Inside South Dakota, Douglas County's $1,653 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. South Dakota overview →
Income burden is light here: about 1.9% of Douglas County's $86,442 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Douglas 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: 0.99%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,653/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 (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Wayne County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Douglas County at $1,653/yr; rate 1.49% vs Douglas County 0.99%.
Henderson County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,651/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.58% vs Douglas County 0.99%.
Pondera County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,651/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.80% vs Douglas County 0.99%.
Rabun County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,651/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.56% vs Douglas County 0.99%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Douglas 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 Douglas County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.