Wisconsin · County property tax · ACS 2024
Forest County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Forest County pays $1,988 a year, an effective rate of 1.07%, roughly in line with the U.S. average.
- $1,988
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.07%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +0%
- vs U.S. average
- #65 of 72
- rank in WI
The verdict
Homeowners in Forest County pay a median $1,988 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.07%, more affordable than 30% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,988
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.07%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2185 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +0%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($185,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Wisconsin. Population: 9,369. Owner-occupied homes: 3,284.
The median annual property tax in Forest County is $1,988, which is 48% lower than the Wisconsin state average and 0% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.07% on a median home value of $185,000. Property taxes represent 3.3% of the median household income in this county.
Forest County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Forest County's 1.07% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 30%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Wisconsin median
Homeowners in Forest County pay a median annual property tax of $1,988, roughly in line with the national median and well below the Wisconsin state median. On a $185,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.07% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Wisconsin counties by effective rate
Forest County ranks #65 of 72 counties in Wisconsin by effective rate (10% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Forest County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $61,071 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Forest 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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Forest County rose 40.6%, from $131,600 to $185,000. The effective rate fell 24.5% over the same span, a steeper move than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 6.1%, to $1,988. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $1,874 to $1,988, a change of 6%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 800 of 3,284 owner-occupied homes (24.4%) 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.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 3.3% of median household income. The gap between those two positions is the whole story on this page.
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 Forest County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Forest County homeowners, 800 of 3,284 owner-occupied homes (24.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.0% (295)
- $800 to $1,499 22.3% (732)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.9% (489)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.1% (692)
- $3,000 or more 24.4% (800)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
276 homes here (8.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Wisconsin handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Forest County pay about the same bill, within a 6% gap either way.
Forest County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Forest County's effective rate is higher than 10% of the 72 counties in Wisconsin - ranking #65 of 72.
Where Forest County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.07% more affordable than 30% 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 Wisconsin on both measures
Forest County's effective rate runs 25% under the Wisconsin median and its bill 48% 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 $1,988 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Wisconsin norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Forest County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Forest County | Wisconsin 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 | 3.3% | - | - |
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.
Forest County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Wisconsin counties.
Forest County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,988 +0.0% | 1.07% |
| 2023 | $1,988 +1.0% | 1.17% |
| 2022 | $1,968 +4.5% | 1.23% |
| 2021 | $1,883 +0.5% | 1.31% |
| 2020 | $1,874 | 1.42% |
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.
Forest County: tax-to-income at 3.3%
Counties near Forest County's effective rate
On effective rate, Forest County sits nearest Real County (TX), Erath County (TX), Blair County (PA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Webster County (GA), Yoakum County (TX), Washington County (GA).
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
Forest County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 120 of 4,460 returns from Forest County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,967 - 50% 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 Wisconsin
Forest County rate FAQs
- How does Forest County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Forest County run roughly in line with the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.07% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Forest County, Wisconsin?
- The median annual property tax in Forest County is $1,988, an effective rate of 1.07% on a $185,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Forest County?
- Forest County, Wisconsin scores D (44/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-119). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Forest County?
- Property taxes in Forest County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $61,071 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Forest County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Forest County ticked up 6.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,874 to $1,988, 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 to do with Forest County's PAR rate
Inside Wisconsin, Forest County's $1,988 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Wisconsin overview →
Forest County ranks #65 of 72 Wisconsin counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Wisconsin overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Forest 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: 1.07%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,988/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Forest County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Forest County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Lumpkin County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,989/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.65% vs Forest County 1.07%.
Sumner County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,987/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.51% vs Forest County 1.07%.
Teton County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,987/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.75% vs Forest County 1.07%.
Pickens County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,990/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.60% vs Forest County 1.07%.
Wisconsin county set
State ACS overview for every published Wisconsin county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Forest 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 Forest County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.