Illinois · County property tax · ACS 2024
Effingham County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Effingham County pays $2,823 a year, an effective rate of 1.49%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,823
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.49%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +42%
- vs U.S. average
- #86 of 102
- rank in IL
The verdict
Homeowners in Effingham County pay a median $2,823 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.49%, more affordable than 11% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,823
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.49%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2787 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +42%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($189,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Illinois. Population: 34,522. Owner-occupied homes: 10,916.
The median annual property tax in Effingham County is $2,823, which is 47% lower than the Illinois state average and 42% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.49% on a median home value of $189,500. Property taxes represent 3.5% of the median household income in this county.
Effingham County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Effingham County's 1.49% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 11%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Effingham County pay a median annual property tax of $2,823, well above the national median and well below the Illinois state median. On a $189,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.49% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Illinois counties by effective rate
Effingham County ranks #86 of 102 counties in Illinois by effective rate (16% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Effingham County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.5% of the $80,404 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Effingham 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
Effingham County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 5.6% down, against a median home value that rose 24.9%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 17.9%, from $2,394 to $2,823.
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 $2,394 to $2,823, a gain of 18%. 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: 4,910 of 10,916 owner-occupied homes (45.0%) 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 3.5% 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 Effingham County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Effingham County homeowners, 4,910 of 10,916 owner-occupied homes (45.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.1% (998)
- $800 to $1,499 13.2% (1,438)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.6% (1,050)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.2% (2,202)
- $3,000 or more 45.0% (4,910)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
318 homes here (2.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Illinois handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Effingham County, mortgaged homeowners pay 15% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Effingham County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Effingham County's effective rate is higher than 16% of the 102 counties in Illinois - ranking #86 of 102.
Where Effingham County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.49% more affordable than 11% 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
Below Illinois on both measures
Effingham County's effective rate runs 26% under the Illinois median and its bill 47% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $2,823 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Illinois norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Effingham County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Effingham County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.5% | - | - |
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.
Effingham County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Effingham County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $189,500 median home carries a $2,823 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $282 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Illinois.
Effingham County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,823 +4.1% | 1.49% |
| 2023 | $2,713 +1.5% | 1.51% |
| 2022 | $2,673 +5.9% | 1.61% |
| 2021 | $2,524 +5.4% | 1.60% |
| 2020 | $2,394 | 1.58% |
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.
Effingham County: tax-to-income at 3.5%
Counties near Effingham County's effective rate
On effective rate, Effingham County sits nearest Gray County (KS), Hamilton County (KS), Osage County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Pondera County (MT), Clay County (SD), Collin County (TX).
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
Effingham County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 580 of 17,270 returns from Effingham County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,557 - 38% 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
Effingham County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Effingham County?
- Effingham County, Illinois scores F (27/100) 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 B+ (2.36×). 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 Effingham County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Effingham County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.49% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Effingham County, Illinois?
- The median annual property tax in Effingham County is $2,823, an effective rate of 1.49% on a $189,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Effingham County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Effingham County climbed 17.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,394 to $2,823, 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 Effingham County?
- Property taxes in Effingham County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.5% of the $80,404 median household income.
What to do with Effingham County's STEEP rate
Effingham County's $2,823 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Effingham County ranks #86 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 Effingham 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: 1.49%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,823/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Effingham County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Effingham County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Bremer County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,824/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.29% vs Effingham County 1.49%.
Monroe County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,826/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.35% vs Effingham County 1.49%.
Lincoln County, ME
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,828/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 0.85% vs Effingham County 1.49%.
Wasco County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,828/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 0.77% vs Effingham County 1.49%.
Illinois county set
State ACS overview for every published Illinois county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Effingham 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 Effingham County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.