Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Gallatin County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Gallatin County pays $3,933 a year, an effective rate of 0.59%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,933
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.59%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +97%
- vs U.S. average
- #38 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Gallatin County pay a median $3,933 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.59%, more affordable than 73% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,933
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.59%
- Effective rate on median home
- #846 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +97%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($667,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 124,074. Owner-occupied homes: 31,270.
The median annual property tax in Gallatin County is $3,933, which is 46% higher than the Montana state average and 97% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.59% on a median home value of $667,600. Property taxes represent 4.2% of the median household income in this county.
Why Gallatin County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Gallatin County pay a median annual property tax of $3,933, far above the national median and well above the Montana state median. On a $667,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.59% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Gallatin County's 0.59% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 73%).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Gallatin County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.2% of the $93,528 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Montana counties by effective rate
Gallatin County ranks #38 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (32% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Gallatin 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 Gallatin County rose 72.1%, from $388,000 to $667,600. The effective rate fell 19.5% over the same span, a steeper move than in 81% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 38.6%, to $3,933. 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 39% from $2,838 to $3,933. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 21,702 of 31,270 owner-occupied homes (69.4%) 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.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 4.2% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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 Gallatin County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Gallatin County homeowners, 21,702 of 31,270 owner-occupied homes (69.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 5.0% (1,548)
- $800 to $1,499 3.3% (1,042)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.5% (1,419)
- $2,000 to $2,999 15.4% (4,804)
- $3,000 or more 69.4% (21,702)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
755 homes here (2.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Gallatin County pay about the same bill, a 0% gap.
Gallatin County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Gallatin County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Gallatin County's median bill is 46% above the Montana median and 97% above the U.S. median.
A low rate, a bigger bill
Gallatin County taxes property at 0.59%, roughly 18% below the Montana average, and still bills a median $3,933, about 46% above the state figure. Because the effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, that combination means local home values run well ahead of the state norm: a gentler rate applied to a larger base.
Gallatin County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Gallatin County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.2% | - | - |
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.
Is Gallatin County's $3,933 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Gallatin County's $3,933 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $393/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Montana.
Gallatin County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,933 +8.5% | 0.59% |
| 2023 | $3,625 +5.9% | 0.60% |
| 2022 | $3,423 +12.0% | 0.65% |
| 2021 | $3,056 +7.7% | 0.70% |
| 2020 | $2,838 | 0.73% |
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.
Gallatin County: tax takes 4.2% of income
Counties near Gallatin County's median bill
On effective rate, Gallatin County sits nearest Osage County (MO), Lawrence County (MO), Itawamba County (MS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Kershaw County (SC), Quay County (NM), Henderson 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
Gallatin County: only 11% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 7,350 of 65,460 returns from Gallatin County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,949 - 37% 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
Gallatin County bill FAQs
- How does Gallatin County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Gallatin County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.59% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Gallatin County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Gallatin County jumped 38.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,838 to $3,933, 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 is the average property tax in Gallatin County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Gallatin County is $3,933, an effective rate of 0.59% on a $667,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Gallatin County?
- Property taxes in Gallatin County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.2% of the $93,528 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Gallatin County?
- Gallatin County, Montana scores D (40/100) 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 (+$19). 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 to do with Gallatin County's HEAVY bill
Gallatin County's $3,933 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Gallatin County ranks #38 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Gallatin County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.59%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,933/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Gallatin County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Gallatin County (QUIET · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET HEAVY
Carroll County, MD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,934/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.91% vs Gallatin County 0.59%.
Warren County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,936/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.47% vs Gallatin County 0.59%.
Winnebago County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,930/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 2.39% vs Gallatin County 0.59%.
Wilson County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,928/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 1.22% vs Gallatin County 0.59%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Gallatin County stamps QUIET · HEAVY - 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 Gallatin County (QUIET · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.