Pennsylvania · County property tax · ACS 2024
Elk County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Elk County pays $1,697 a year, an effective rate of 1.27%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,697
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.27%
- Effective rate · High rate
- -15%
- vs U.S. average
- #34 of 67
- rank in PA
The verdict
Homeowners in Elk County pay a median $1,697 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.27%, more affordable than 20% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,697
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.27%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2505 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -15%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($133,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Pennsylvania. Population: 30,506. Owner-occupied homes: 10,600.
The median annual property tax in Elk County is $1,697, which is 49% lower than the Pennsylvania state average and 15% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.27% on a median home value of $133,600. Property taxes represent 2.6% of the median household income in this county.
Elk County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Elk County's 1.27% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 20%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Pennsylvania median
Homeowners in Elk County pay a median annual property tax of $1,697, notably lower than the national median and well below the Pennsylvania state median. On a $133,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.27% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
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 2.6% of the $66,380 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Pennsylvania counties by effective rate
Elk County ranks #34 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by effective rate (49% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Elk County's effective rate fell 12.6% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 29.6%, leaving the median bill 13.2% higher at $1,697. That rate move is larger than the one in 52% 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,499 to $1,697, a gain of 13%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 3,044 of 10,600 owner-occupied homes (28.7%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
The rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 2.6% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to 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, 3,044 of 10,600 owner-occupied homes (28.7%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 12.1% (1,287)
- $800 to $1,499 28.7% (3,044)
- $1,500 to $1,999 21.4% (2,270)
- $2,000 to $2,999 17.5% (1,858)
- $3,000 or more 18.8% (1,990)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
151 homes here (1.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Pennsylvania handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Elk County pay about the same bill, a 6% 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 49% of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania - ranking #34 of 67.
Where Elk County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.27% more affordable than 20% 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
Same rate as Pennsylvania, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 2% of the Pennsylvania median, yet the median bill runs 49% below it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to cheaper housing produces $1,697 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Elk County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Elk County | Pennsylvania Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.6% | - | - |
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 is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Pennsylvania counties.
Elk County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,697 +0.7% | 1.27% |
| 2023 | $1,686 +2.7% | 1.31% |
| 2022 | $1,641 +4.9% | 1.35% |
| 2021 | $1,565 +4.4% | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $1,499 | 1.45% |
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 2.6%
Counties near Elk County's effective rate
On effective rate, Elk County sits nearest Portage County (OH), Dodge County (NE), Oakland County (MI).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Culpeper County (VA), Colonial Heights city (VA), Washington County (ME).
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
Elk County: only 1% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 180 of 15,650 returns from Elk County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,322 - 33% 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 Pennsylvania
Elk County rate FAQs
- How does Elk County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Elk County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.27% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Elk County, Pennsylvania?
- The median annual property tax in Elk County is $1,697, an effective rate of 1.27% on a $133,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Elk County?
- Elk County, Pennsylvania scores D (48/100) 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 (2.01×). 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 climbed 13.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,499 to $1,697, 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 Elk County?
- Property taxes in Elk County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $66,380 median household income.
What to do with Elk County's PAR rate
Inside Pennsylvania, Elk County's $1,697 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Pennsylvania overview →
Elk County ranks #34 of 67 Pennsylvania counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Pennsylvania overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Elk County's PAR 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: 1.27%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,697/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 (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Anderson County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Elk County at $1,697/yr; rate 0.75% vs Elk County 1.27%.
Montgomery County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Elk County at $1,697/yr; rate 0.61% vs Elk County 1.27%.
Polk County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Elk County at $1,697/yr; rate 0.54% vs Elk County 1.27%.
Madison County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,698/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.73% vs Elk County 1.27%.
Pennsylvania county set
State ACS overview for every published Pennsylvania county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Elk County stamps PAR · 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 Elk County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.