Kansas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Elk County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Elk County pays $1,388 a year, an effective rate of 2.03%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,388
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 2.03%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- -30%
- vs U.S. average
- #5 of 105
- rank in KS
The verdict
Homeowners in Elk County pay a median $1,388 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 2.03%, more affordable than 2% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,388
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 2.03%
- Effective rate on median home
- #3061 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -30%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($68,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kansas. Population: 2,453. Owner-occupied homes: 787.
The median annual property tax in Elk County is $1,388, which is 50% lower than the Kansas state average and 30% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 2.03% on a median home value of $68,500. Property taxes represent 2.1% of the median household income in this county.
Elk County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national headwind
Elk County's 2.03% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 98% pay more.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Elk County pay a median annual property tax of $1,388, well below the national median and far below the Kansas state median. On a $68,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 2.03% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Kansas counties by effective rate
Elk County ranks #5 of 105 counties in Kansas by effective rate (95% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Elk County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $64,609 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 14.6%, from $1,211 to $1,388. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Elk 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 31% from $1,057 to $1,388. 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 236 of 787 owner-occupied homes (30.0%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 2.1% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned here.
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 Elk County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Elk County homeowners, 236 of 787 owner-occupied homes (30.0%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 30.0% (236)
- $800 to $1,499 20.3% (160)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.1% (103)
- $2,000 to $2,999 18.9% (149)
- $3,000 or more 11.3% (89)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
50 homes here (6.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kansas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Elk County pay about the same bill, a 9% gap.
Elk County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Elk County's effective rate is higher than 95% of the 105 counties in Kansas - ranking #5 of 105.
Where Elk County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
2.03% more affordable than 2% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Elk County taxes property at 2.03%, about 57% above the Kansas average, yet its median bill of $1,388 lands roughly 50% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Elk County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Elk County | Kansas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.1% | - | - |
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.
Elk County's PEAK · LIGHT lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Elk County's published figures (PEAK · LIGHT), a $68,500 median home carries a $1,388 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $139 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Kansas.
Elk County rate trail · PEAK
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,388 +14.6% | 2.03% |
| 2023 | $1,211 -2.1% | 1.99% |
| 2022 | $1,237 +19.1% | 2.17% |
| 2021 | $1,039 -1.7% | 1.81% |
| 2020 | $1,057 | 2.14% |
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.
Elk County: tax-to-income at 2.1%
Counties near Elk County's effective rate
On effective rate, Elk County sits nearest St. Clair County (IL), Schoharie County (NY), El Paso County (TX).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are San Luis Obispo County (CA), Tippah County (MS), Tyler 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
IRS county file: no disclosed Elk County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for Elk County. That is a limit of the published data rather than a finding about the county: county-level figures are withheld where the counts are too small to disclose safely, which is common in places with few filers. Roughly one county in sixteen is in this position, so the filer view available elsewhere on this site is simply not available here. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data.
Other Counties in Kansas
Elk County rate FAQs
- How does Elk County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Elk County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 2.03% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Elk County, Kansas?
- The median annual property tax in Elk County is $1,388, an effective rate of 2.03% on a $68,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Elk County?
- Elk County, Kansas scores D (49/100) 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+ (1.06×). 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 Elk County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Elk County is recorded at $1,388 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,057 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 787 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 Elk County?
- Property taxes in Elk County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $64,609 median household income.
What to do with Elk County's PEAK rate
Elk County's $1,388 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 →
Elk County ranks #5 of 105 Kansas counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Kansas overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Elk County's PEAK 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: 2.03%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,388/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Elk County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Elk County (PEAK · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PEAK LIGHT
Bristol city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,387/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.75% vs Elk County 2.03%.
Clark County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,389/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.88% vs Elk County 2.03%.
Garfield County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,389/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.87% vs Elk County 2.03%.
Houston County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,387/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.84% vs Elk County 2.03%.
Kansas county set
State ACS overview for every published Kansas county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Elk County stamps PEAK · LIGHT - 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 Elk County (PEAK · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.