Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Hidalgo County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Hidalgo County pays $2,279 a year, an effective rate of 1.62%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,279
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.62%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- +14%
- vs U.S. average
- #24 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Hidalgo County pay a median $2,279 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.62%, more affordable than 8% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,279
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.62%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2893 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +14%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($140,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Hidalgo County, TX
18/100
5 ACS dimensions · release 2024
Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Median home value relative to Hidalgo County's median income
Hidalgo County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median tax as a share of Hidalgo County's median household income
Hidalgo County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Hidalgo County
Read the chart values
- Housing pressure: 66/100 (B-) · 2.59×
- Bill size: 30/100 (F) · $2,279/yr
- Income room: 13/100 (F) · 4.2%
- Rate relief: 7/100 (F) · 1.62%
- Mortgage premium: 0/100 (F) · +$1,917
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 891,977. Owner-occupied homes: 182,271.
The median annual property tax in Hidalgo County is $2,279, which is 46% lower than the Texas state average and 14% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.62% on a median home value of $140,900. Property taxes represent 4.2% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Hidalgo County
Primary signal
The bill sits below the Texas median
Homeowners in Hidalgo County pay a median annual property tax of $2,279, notably higher than the national median and well below the Texas state median. On a $140,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.62% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
The effective rate is a national headwind
Hidalgo County's 1.62% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 92% pay more.
Decision signal 3
Low among Texas counties by effective rate
Hidalgo County ranks #24 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (90% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Hidalgo County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.2% of the $54,338 median household income.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Hidalgo County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making 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 Hidalgo County rose 56.6%, from $90,000 to $140,900. The effective rate fell 20.3% over the same span, a steeper move than in 83% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 24.8%, to $2,279. 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,826 to $2,279, a gain of 25%. 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: 67,568 of 182,271 owner-occupied homes (37.1%) 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.
This is the least forgiving PAIRING in the data, bottom-quartile household income with a top-quartile effective rate, putting the median bill at 4.2% of median household income. Neither figure is remarkable on its own; the combination is, and the ratio above is the only part of it a household actually feels.
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 Hidalgo County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Hidalgo County homeowners, 67,568 of 182,271 owner-occupied homes (37.1%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 15.3% (27,799)
- $800 to $1,499 18.4% (33,552)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.9% (18,065)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.7% (26,861)
- $3,000 or more 37.1% (67,568)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
8,426 homes here (4.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Hidalgo County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+119%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
How Hidalgo County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Hidalgo County's effective rate is higher than 90% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #24 of 250 for property tax burden.
Where Hidalgo County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.62% more affordable than 8% 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
Among the highest-taxed counties in the country
At 1.62%, Hidalgo County sits in the top 8% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. That is the rate, not the bill: a high rate on a modest home can still produce a smaller cheque than a low rate on an expensive one, which is why the $2,279 median bill is the number to compare against another county.
Hidalgo County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Hidalgo County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile 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.
Hidalgo County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Hidalgo County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $140,900 median home carries a $2,279 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $228 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in Texas.
Property Tax History · STEEP · MID
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,279 +4.2% | 1.62% |
| 2023 | $2,187 +6.8% | 1.76% |
| 2022 | $2,047 +9.2% | 1.82% |
| 2021 | $1,874 +2.6% | 1.98% |
| 2020 | $1,826 | 2.03% |
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.
Tax Burden
Tax Affordability Score
An effective rate far above the national average of 0.92% puts Hidalgo County in the "Expensive" band for property tax burden.
How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Hidalgo County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Hidalgo County sits nearest Lake County (OH), Lewis County (NY), Marion County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Vigo County (IN), Blaine County (ID), Blount County (AL).
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
What tax filers report in Hidalgo County
Of the 364,270 federal returns filed from Hidalgo County in 2022, 8,000 (2.2% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $6,938 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 27% of the county's reporting returns.
Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Texas
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Hidalgo County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Hidalgo County? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Hidalgo County? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Hidalgo County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Hidalgo County, Texas? ▼
What to do with Hidalgo County's numbers
- Inside Texas, Hidalgo County's $2,279 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Texas overview →
- Hidalgo County ranks #24 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
- If Hidalgo County's assessment looks high versus the $140,900 typical home, check Texas's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition
Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($140,900); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
Nationwide peers by effective rate & median bill
Two PlainPropertyTax-derived comparison paths for Hidalgo County, both outside Texas so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice. Axes stay disjoint: median-bill peers exclude the effective-rate peer set.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.62%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,279/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Hidalgo County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Hidalgo County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Sierra County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Hidalgo County at $2,279/yr; rate 0.69% vs Hidalgo County 1.62%.
Merrick County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,280/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.30% vs Hidalgo County 1.62%.
Carbon County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,281/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.54% vs Hidalgo County 1.62%.
Carroll County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,277/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.99% vs Hidalgo County 1.62%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Hidalgo 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.
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Editorial standards and provenance
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Hidalgo County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.