Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Fergus County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Fergus County pays $1,769 a year, an effective rate of 0.75%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,769
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.75%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -11%
- vs U.S. average
- #24 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Fergus County pay a median $1,769 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.75%, more affordable than 55% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,769
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.75%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1425 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -11%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($236,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 11,687. Owner-occupied homes: 3,360.
The median annual property tax in Fergus County is $1,769, which is 34% lower than the Montana state average and 11% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.75% on a median home value of $236,100. Property taxes represent 2.8% of the median household income in this county.
Fergus County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Fergus County's 0.75% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 55%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Montana median
Homeowners in Fergus County pay a median annual property tax of $1,769, notably lower than the national median and well below the Montana state median. On a $236,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.75% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Montana counties by effective rate
Fergus County ranks #24 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (57% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Fergus County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.8% of the $63,706 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 3.5%, from $1,709 to $1,769. 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 Fergus 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 28% from $1,378 to $1,769. 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: 745 of 3,360 owner-occupied homes (22.2%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 2.8% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Fergus County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Fergus County homeowners, 745 of 3,360 owner-occupied homes (22.2%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 22.2% (745)
- $800 to $1,499 18.4% (617)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.7% (495)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.2% (680)
- $3,000 or more 21.4% (720)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
103 homes here (3.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Fergus County, mortgaged homeowners pay 23% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Fergus County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Fergus County's effective rate is higher than 57% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #24 of 56.
Where Fergus County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.75% more affordable than 55% 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 Fergus County moved from $1,378 in the 2020 release to $1,769 in 2024, a change of about 28%. 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.
Fergus County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Fergus County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.8% | - | - |
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.
Fergus County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Fergus County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,769 +3.5% | 0.75% |
| 2023 | $1,709 +11.9% | 0.84% |
| 2022 | $1,527 +5.9% | 0.87% |
| 2021 | $1,442 +4.6% | 0.96% |
| 2020 | $1,378 | 0.99% |
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.
Fergus County: tax-to-income at 2.8%
Counties near Fergus County's effective rate
On effective rate, Fergus County sits nearest Marion County (MS), McCracken County (KY), Anderson County (KY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lee County (FL), Navajo County (AZ), Rusk 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
Fergus County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 220 of 5,850 returns from Fergus County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,536 - 27% 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 Montana
Fergus County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Fergus County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Fergus County is $1,769, an effective rate of 0.75% on a $236,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Fergus County?
- Fergus County, Montana scores D (45/100) 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 rate relief at C (0.75%). 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 Fergus County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Fergus County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.75% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Fergus County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Fergus County is recorded at $1,769 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,378 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 3,360 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 Fergus County?
- Property taxes in Fergus County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.8% of the $63,706 median household income.
What to do with Fergus County's UNDER rate
Inside Montana, Fergus County's $1,769 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Montana overview →
Fergus County ranks #24 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Fergus 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: 0.75%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,769/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Fergus County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Fergus County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Cole County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Fergus County at $1,769/yr; rate 0.77% vs Fergus County 0.75%.
Richland County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Fergus County at $1,769/yr; rate 1.58% vs Fergus County 0.75%.
Brown County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,770/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.11% vs Fergus County 0.75%.
Iron County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,768/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.07% vs Fergus County 0.75%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Fergus 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 Fergus County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.