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Michigan · County property tax · ACS 2024

Eaton County Property Taxes

The median homeowner in Eaton County pays $3,067 a year, an effective rate of 1.41%, far above the U.S. average.

$3,067
Median tax / yr · High bill
1.41%
Effective rate · High rate
+54%
vs U.S. average
#10 of 83
rank in MI

The verdict

Homeowners in Eaton County pay a median $3,067 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.41%, more affordable than 14% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).

$3,067
Median annual tax bill, 2024
1.41%
Effective rate on median home
#2688 of 3135
U.S. counties by tax burden
+54%
vs the national average bill

Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($216,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.

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Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Michigan. Population: 109,130. Owner-occupied homes: 33,694.

The median annual property tax in Eaton County is $3,067, which is 6% higher than the Michigan state average and 54% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.41% on a median home value of $216,900. Property taxes represent 3.9% of the median household income in this county.

Eaton County's rate standing among U.S. counties

Primary signal

The effective rate sits near the national middle

Eaton County's 1.41% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 14%).

Decision signal 2

The bill sits well above the national median

Homeowners in Eaton County pay a median annual property tax of $3,067, far above the national median and modestly above the Michigan state median. On a $216,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.41% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.

Decision signal 3

Low among Michigan counties by effective rate

Eaton County ranks #10 of 83 counties in Michigan by effective rate (88% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).

Decision signal 4

Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band

Property taxes in Eaton County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.9% of the $79,597 median household income.

Informational notice

Figures describe the median homeowner household in Eaton 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

Eaton County's effective rate fell 12.4% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 35.6%, leaving the median bill 18.7% higher at $3,067. That rate move is larger than the one in 51% 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.

Median Annual Tax
$3,067
High bill
+6% vs State +54% vs US
Median Home Value
$216,900
-6% vs State -5% vs US
Effective Tax Rate
1.41%
High rate
+13% vs State +53% vs US

How to read this county's bill

Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $2,583 to $3,067, a gain of 19%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.

The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 16,465 of 33,694 owner-occupied homes (48.9%) 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 3.9% 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 Eaton County Homeowners Actually Pay

The single largest group of Eaton County homeowners, 16,465 of 33,694 owner-occupied homes (48.9%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.

  • Less than $800 4.2% (1,425)
  • $800 to $1,499 7.5% (2,536)
  • $1,500 to $1,999 10.2% (3,445)
  • $2,000 to $2,999 23.9% (8,067)
  • $3,000 or more 48.9% (16,465)

Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.

1,756 homes here (5.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Michigan handles assessments and appeals.

With vs Without Mortgage

With Mortgage
$3,121
$260/mo
Without Mortgage
$2,981
$248/mo

Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Eaton County pay about the same bill, a 5% gap.

Eaton County's effective rate vs peers

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.

Eaton County 1.41%
Michigan average 1.25%
U.S. average 0.92%

Eaton County's effective rate is higher than 88% of the 83 counties in Michigan - ranking #10 of 83.

Where Eaton County sits among every U.S. county

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)

1.41% more affordable than 14% of 3,135 U.S. counties

Show national distribution This county 0.00% 4.00% every U.S. county, bucketed by value

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

Eaton County vs Benchmarks

Metric Eaton County Michigan Avg U.S. Avg
Median Annual Tax High bill $3,067 $2,904 $1,993
Effective Tax Rate High rate 1.41% 1.25% 0.92%
Median Home Value $216,900 $231,600 $227,791
Tax as % of income Heavy income burden 3.9% - -

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.

Eaton County's STEEP · HEAVY lane - is an appeal worth running?

On Eaton County's published figures (STEEP · HEAVY), a $216,900 median home carries a $3,067 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $307 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Michigan.

Eaton County rate trail · STEEP

$2,400$2,600$2,800$3,000$3,200 20202021202220232024 $3,067
Eaton County ACS median tax 2020–2024: +19% ($2,583 → $3,067).
Year Median Tax (vs prior release) Effective Rate
2024 $3,067 +4.9% 1.41%
2023 $2,924 +1.9% 1.41%
2022 $2,870 +6.1% 1.48%
2021 $2,705 +4.7% 1.59%
2020 $2,583 1.61%

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.

Eaton County: tax-to-income at 3.9%

Tax-to-Income Ratio
3.9%
of median household income
Median Income
$79,597
per year
Monthly Tax
$256
per month

Counties near Eaton County's effective rate

On effective rate, Eaton County sits nearest Thomas County (KS), Franklin County (KS), Page County (IA).

On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Roane County (TN), Ralls County (MO), Monongalia County (WV).

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.

Eaton County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax

Tax year 2022: 2,060 of 54,910 returns from Eaton County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,244 - 36% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k 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 Michigan

View all counties in Michigan →

Eaton County rate FAQs

What is the tax affordability score for Eaton County?
Eaton County, Michigan scores F (29/100) 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 mortgage premium at B (+$140). 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 Eaton County property tax compare to the national average?
Property taxes in Eaton County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.41% versus 0.92% nationally.
What is the average property tax in Eaton County, Michigan?
The median annual property tax in Eaton County is $3,067, an effective rate of 1.41% on a $216,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Eaton County?
Property taxes in Eaton County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.9% of the $79,597 median household income.
Are property taxes increasing in Eaton County?
The ACS median property-tax bill for Eaton County climbed 18.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,583 to $3,067, 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 Eaton County's STEEP rate

Eaton County's $3,067 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →

Eaton County ranks #10 of 83 Michigan counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Michigan overview →

Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)

Rate-first peers for Eaton 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: 1.41%.

Similar median bill

Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,067/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.

Read with Eaton County

Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Eaton County (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.

STEEP HEAVY

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 Eaton County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.