Illinois · County property tax · ACS 2024
Fayette County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Fayette County pays $1,894 a year, an effective rate of 1.45%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,894
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.45%
- Effective rate · High rate
- -5%
- vs U.S. average
- #89 of 102
- rank in IL
The verdict
Homeowners in Fayette County pay a median $1,894 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.45%, more affordable than 13% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,894
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.45%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2737 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -5%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($130,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Illinois. Population: 21,315. Owner-occupied homes: 6,299.
The median annual property tax in Fayette County is $1,894, which is 64% lower than the Illinois state average and 5% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.45% on a median home value of $130,700. Property taxes represent 3.1% of the median household income in this county.
Fayette County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Fayette County's 1.45% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 13%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Illinois median
Homeowners in Fayette County pay a median annual property tax of $1,894, modestly below the national median and far below the Illinois state median. On a $130,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.45% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Illinois counties by effective rate
Fayette County ranks #89 of 102 counties in Illinois by effective rate (13% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Fayette County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.1% of the $60,944 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Fayette 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
Fayette County's effective rate fell 13.9% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 40.2%, leaving the median bill 20.8% higher at $1,894. That rate move is larger than the one in 58% 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 $1,568 to $1,894, a gain of 21%. 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: 1,513 of 6,299 owner-occupied homes (24.0%) 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.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 3.1% 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 Fayette County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Fayette County homeowners, 1,513 of 6,299 owner-occupied homes (24.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 17.6% (1,110)
- $800 to $1,499 19.6% (1,232)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.0% (883)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.2% (1,336)
- $3,000 or more 24.0% (1,513)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
225 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Illinois handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Fayette County pay a substantially higher bill, 40% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Fayette County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Fayette County's effective rate is higher than 13% of the 102 counties in Illinois - ranking #89 of 102.
Where Fayette County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.45% more affordable than 13% 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
Fayette County's effective rate runs 28% under the Illinois median and its bill 64% 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 $1,894 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.
Fayette County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Fayette County | Illinois 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 | 3.1% | - | - |
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.
Fayette County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Fayette County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $130,700 median home carries a $1,894 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $189 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Illinois.
Fayette County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,894 +8.9% | 1.45% |
| 2023 | $1,740 +2.0% | 1.52% |
| 2022 | $1,706 +6.9% | 1.53% |
| 2021 | $1,596 +1.8% | 1.67% |
| 2020 | $1,568 | 1.68% |
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.
Fayette County: tax-to-income at 3.1%
Counties near Fayette County's effective rate
On effective rate, Fayette County sits nearest Cerro Gordo County (IA), Woodbury County (IA), Geary County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Waldo County (ME), Burleigh County (ND), Sagadahoc 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
Fayette County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 180 of 9,030 returns from Fayette County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,672 - 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 Illinois
Fayette County rate FAQs
- How does Fayette County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Fayette County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.45% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Fayette County?
- Fayette County, Illinois scores F (32/100) 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- (2.14×). 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 Fayette County, Illinois?
- The median annual property tax in Fayette County is $1,894, an effective rate of 1.45% on a $130,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Fayette County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Fayette County jumped 20.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,568 to $1,894, 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 Fayette County?
- Property taxes in Fayette County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.1% of the $60,944 median household income.
What to do with Fayette County's STEEP rate
Inside Illinois, Fayette County's $1,894 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Illinois overview →
Fayette County ranks #89 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 Fayette 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: 1.45%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,894/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Fayette County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Fayette County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Sterling County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Fayette County at $1,894/yr; rate 1.29% vs Fayette County 1.45%.
Douglas County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,895/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.61% vs Fayette County 1.45%.
Roanoke city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,893/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.99% vs Fayette County 1.45%.
Wheeler County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,893/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.69% vs Fayette County 1.45%.
Illinois county set
State ACS overview for every published Illinois county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Fayette 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 Fayette County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.