Kansas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Ford County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Ford County pays $2,300 a year, an effective rate of 1.52%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,300
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.52%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +15%
- vs U.S. average
- #50 of 105
- rank in KS
The verdict
Homeowners in Ford County pay a median $2,300 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.52%, more affordable than 10% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,300
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.52%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2821 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 ($151,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kansas. Population: 34,074. Owner-occupied homes: 7,371.
The median annual property tax in Ford County is $2,300, which is 18% lower than the Kansas state average and 15% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.52% on a median home value of $151,100. Property taxes represent 3.2% of the median household income in this county.
Ford County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national headwind
Ford County's 1.52% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 90% pay more.
Decision signal 2
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Ford County pay a median annual property tax of $2,300, notably higher than the national median and notably lower than the Kansas state median. On a $151,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.52% 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 Ford County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $70,781 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Kansas counties by effective rate
Ford County ranks #50 of 105 counties in Kansas by effective rate (52% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Ford 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
Ford County's effective rate fell 13.3% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 37.6%, leaving the median bill 19.3% higher at $2,300. That rate move is larger than the one in 56% 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 $1,928 to $2,300, a gain of 19%. 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: 2,392 of 7,371 owner-occupied homes (32.5%) 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.
The rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 3.2% 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 Ford County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Ford County homeowners, 2,392 of 7,371 owner-occupied homes (32.5%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 16.2% (1,192)
- $800 to $1,499 13.2% (974)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.4% (912)
- $2,000 to $2,999 23.3% (1,715)
- $3,000 or more 32.5% (2,392)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
186 homes here (2.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kansas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Ford County pay a substantially higher bill, 41% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Ford County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Ford County's effective rate is higher than 52% of the 105 counties in Kansas - ranking #50 of 105.
Where Ford County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.52% more affordable than 10% 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
Ford County taxes property at 1.52%, about 18% above the Kansas average, yet its median bill of $2,300 lands roughly 18% 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.
Ford County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Ford County | Kansas 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 | 3.2% | - | - |
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.
Ford County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Ford County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $151,100 median home carries a $2,300 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $230 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Kansas.
Ford County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,300 +5.0% | 1.52% |
| 2023 | $2,190 +7.0% | 1.65% |
| 2022 | $2,046 +6.9% | 1.68% |
| 2021 | $1,914 -0.7% | 1.76% |
| 2020 | $1,928 | 1.76% |
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.
Ford County: tax-to-income at 3.2%
Counties near Ford County's effective rate
On effective rate, Ford County sits nearest Johnson County (IA), Brown County (IL), Washtenaw County (MI).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Hoke County (NC), Darke County (OH), Breckinridge County (KY).
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
Ford County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 400 of 15,280 returns from Ford County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,668 - 35% 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 Kansas
Ford County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Ford County?
- Ford County, Kansas scores F (27/100) 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- (2.13×). 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 Ford County, Kansas?
- The median annual property tax in Ford County is $2,300, an effective rate of 1.52% on a $151,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Ford County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Ford County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.52% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Ford County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Ford County climbed 19.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,928 to $2,300, 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 Ford County?
- Property taxes in Ford County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $70,781 median household income.
What to do with Ford County's STEEP rate
At Ford County's 1.52% effective rate, a $151,100 home implies about $2,300/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
Ford County ranks #50 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 Ford 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: 1.52%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,300/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Ford County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Ford County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Cheyenne County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,301/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.65% vs Ford County 1.52%.
Van Zandt County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,298/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.03% vs Ford County 1.52%.
Columbia County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,303/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.85% vs Ford County 1.52%.
Indiana County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,297/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.50% vs Ford County 1.52%.
Kansas county set
State ACS overview for every published Kansas county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Ford 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 Ford County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.