Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Garrard County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Garrard County pays $1,422 a year, an effective rate of 0.69%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,422
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.69%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -29%
- vs U.S. average
- #57 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Garrard County pay a median $1,422 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.69%, more affordable than 61% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,422
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.69%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1228 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -29%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($204,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 17,568. Owner-occupied homes: 5,349.
The median annual property tax in Garrard County is $1,422, which is 8% lower than the Kentucky state average and 29% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.69% on a median home value of $204,900. Property taxes represent 2.3% of the median household income in this county.
Garrard County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Garrard County's 0.69% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 61%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Garrard County pay a median annual property tax of $1,422, well below the national median and modestly below the Kentucky state median. On a $204,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.69% 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 Garrard County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $63,087 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Kentucky counties by effective rate
Garrard County ranks #57 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (53% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Garrard 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
Garrard County's effective rate fell 13.1% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 41.4%, leaving the median bill 22.9% higher at $1,422. That rate move is larger than the one in 55% 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 $1,157 to $1,422, a gain of 23%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 1,597 of 5,349 owner-occupied homes (29.9%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 2.3% 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 Garrard County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Garrard County homeowners, 1,597 of 5,349 owner-occupied homes (29.9%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 21.5% (1,152)
- $800 to $1,499 29.9% (1,597)
- $1,500 to $1,999 20.3% (1,084)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.4% (768)
- $3,000 or more 10.2% (544)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
204 homes here (3.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Garrard County, mortgaged homeowners pay 28% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Garrard County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Garrard County's effective rate is higher than 53% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #57 of 120.
Where Garrard County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.69% Among the most affordable more affordable than 61% 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
Close to the Kentucky median on both measures
Rate and bill both land within 10% of the Kentucky medians here, which makes Garrard County a reasonable stand-in for the state when comparing against counties elsewhere. It also means the county-level figure adds little beyond the state figure for this particular comparison; the $1,422 median bill and the state median tell substantially the same story.
Garrard County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Garrard County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.3% | - | - |
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.
Garrard County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Garrard County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,422 +5.8% | 0.69% |
| 2023 | $1,344 +0.1% | 0.72% |
| 2022 | $1,342 +9.5% | 0.79% |
| 2021 | $1,226 +6.0% | 0.79% |
| 2020 | $1,157 | 0.80% |
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.
Garrard County: tax-to-income at 2.3%
Counties near Garrard County's effective rate
On effective rate, Garrard County sits nearest Vermillion County (IN), Floyd County (IN), Daviess County (IN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Richland County (SC), Sierra County (NM), Grimes 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
Garrard County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 250 of 7,420 returns from Garrard County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,940 - 40% 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 Kentucky
Garrard County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Garrard County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Garrard County is $1,422, an effective rate of 0.69% on a $204,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Garrard County?
- Garrard County, Kentucky scores C (56/100) 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+ (0.69%). 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 Garrard County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Garrard County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.69% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Garrard County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Garrard County jumped 22.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,157 to $1,422, 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 Garrard County?
- Property taxes in Garrard County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $63,087 median household income.
What to do with Garrard County's QUIET rate
Garrard County's $1,422 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Garrard County ranks #57 of 120 Kentucky counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Kentucky overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Garrard County's QUIET 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: 0.69%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,422/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Garrard County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Garrard County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Lac qui Parle County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Garrard County at $1,422/yr; rate 0.90% vs Garrard County 0.69%.
Bleckley County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,423/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.95% vs Garrard County 0.69%.
Buena Vista city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,421/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.91% vs Garrard County 0.69%.
Cape Girardeau County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,421/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.64% vs Garrard County 0.69%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Garrard County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - 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 Garrard County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.