Indiana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Elkhart County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Elkhart County pays $1,717 a year, an effective rate of 0.82%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,717
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.82%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -14%
- vs U.S. average
- #7 of 92
- rank in IN
The verdict
Homeowners in Elkhart County pay a median $1,717 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.82%, more affordable than 49% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,717
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.82%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1614 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -14%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($210,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Indiana. Population: 207,132. Owner-occupied homes: 51,749.
The median annual property tax in Elkhart County is $1,717, which is 6% higher than the Indiana state average and 14% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.82% on a median home value of $210,400. Property taxes represent 2.5% of the median household income in this county.
Elkhart County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Elkhart County's 0.82% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 49%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Indiana counties by effective rate
Elkhart County ranks #7 of 92 counties in Indiana by effective rate (92% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Elkhart County pay a median annual property tax of $1,717, notably lower than the national median and modestly above the Indiana state median. On a $210,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.82% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Elkhart County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $68,561 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Elkhart 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 7.8% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 69% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 40.9%, the median bill rose 30.0% to $1,717: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 30% from $1,321 to $1,717. 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 13,879 of 51,749 owner-occupied homes (26.8%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 2.5% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.
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 Elkhart County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Elkhart County homeowners, 13,879 of 51,749 owner-occupied homes (26.8%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 15.4% (7,944)
- $800 to $1,499 26.8% (13,879)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.4% (7,960)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.1% (10,383)
- $3,000 or more 20.1% (10,404)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,179 homes here (2.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Indiana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Elkhart County pay about the same bill, a 1% gap.
Elkhart County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Elkhart County's effective rate is higher than 92% of the 92 counties in Indiana - ranking #7 of 92.
Where Elkhart County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.82% more affordable than 49% 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 Elkhart County moved from $1,321 in the 2020 release to $1,717 in 2024, a change of about 30%. 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.
Elkhart County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Elkhart County | Indiana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.5% | - | - |
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.
Elkhart County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Indiana counties.
Elkhart County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,717 +7.9% | 0.82% |
| 2023 | $1,592 +6.2% | 0.82% |
| 2022 | $1,499 +7.8% | 0.82% |
| 2021 | $1,390 +5.2% | 0.87% |
| 2020 | $1,321 | 0.88% |
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.
Elkhart County: tax-to-income at 2.5%
Counties near Elkhart County's effective rate
On effective rate, Elkhart County sits nearest McDuffie County (GA), Early County (GA), Columbia County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Olmsted County (MN), Orange County (FL), Pierce County (WA).
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
Elkhart County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 3,880 of 98,550 returns from Elkhart County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,493 - 36% 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 Indiana
Elkhart County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Elkhart County?
- Elkhart County, Indiana scores C- (54/100) 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 A (+$12). 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.
- What is the average property tax in Elkhart County, Indiana?
- The median annual property tax in Elkhart County is $1,717, an effective rate of 0.82% on a $210,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Elkhart County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Elkhart County jumped 30.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,321 to $1,717, 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.
- How does Elkhart County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Elkhart County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.82% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Elkhart County?
- Property taxes in Elkhart County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $68,561 median household income.
What to do with Elkhart County's UNDER rate
At Elkhart County's 0.82% effective rate, a $210,400 home implies about $1,717/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
Elkhart County ranks #7 of 92 Indiana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Indiana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Elkhart 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: 0.82%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,717/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Elkhart County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Elkhart County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Coffey County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Elkhart County at $1,717/yr; rate 1.09% vs Elkhart County 0.82%.
Potter County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Elkhart County at $1,717/yr; rate 1.42% vs Elkhart County 0.82%.
Clark County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,716/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.77% vs Elkhart County 0.82%.
Franklin County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,716/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.79% vs Elkhart County 0.82%.
Indiana county set
State ACS overview for every published Indiana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Elkhart 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 Elkhart County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.