Florida · County property tax · ACS 2024
Highlands County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Highlands County pays $1,353 a year, an effective rate of 0.72%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,353
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.72%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -32%
- vs U.S. average
- #35 of 67
- rank in FL
The verdict
Homeowners in Highlands County pay a median $1,353 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.72%, more affordable than 58% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,353
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.72%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1325 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -32%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($187,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Florida. Population: 105,702. Owner-occupied homes: 36,845.
The median annual property tax in Highlands County is $1,353, which is 50% lower than the Florida state average and 32% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.72% on a median home value of $187,900. Property taxes represent 2.5% of the median household income in this county.
Highlands County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Highlands County's 0.72% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 58%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Highlands County pay a median annual property tax of $1,353, well below the national median and far below the Florida state median. On a $187,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.72% 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 Highlands County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $54,897 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Florida counties by effective rate
Highlands County ranks #35 of 67 counties in Florida by effective rate (48% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Highlands 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 6.2% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 74% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 55.9%, the median bill rose 46.3% to $1,353: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 46% from $925 to $1,353. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 9,273 of 36,845 owner-occupied homes (25.2%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Incomes here are in the lowest quarter nationally while the rate sits just below the middle, and the median bill lands at 2.5% of median household income. The rate reads as unremarkable in a national ranking; the earnings behind it are not, and the ratio above is where the two meet.
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.
Paying off the mortgage changes the picture here
20.6% of Highlands County homes owned free and clear (4,678 of 22,738) report no property tax at all, against 2.4% of homes still carrying a mortgage. A reported zero is not proof of an exemption: it can equally mean a bill paid by another party, or a reporting artefact. But a gap this size is where age- and disability-based relief usually shows up, because those programmes reach owners who have finished paying.
What Highlands County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Highlands County homeowners, 9,273 of 36,845 owner-occupied homes (25.2%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 22.8% (8,389)
- $800 to $1,499 25.2% (9,273)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.0% (4,432)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.8% (5,452)
- $3,000 or more 11.6% (4,280)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
5,019 homes here (13.6%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Florida handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Highlands County pay a substantially higher bill, 45% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Highlands County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Highlands County's effective rate is higher than 48% of the 67 counties in Florida - ranking #35 of 67.
Where Highlands County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.72% more affordable than 58% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Highlands County moved from $925 in the 2020 release to $1,353 in 2024, a change of about 46%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Highlands County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Highlands County | Florida Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.5% | - | - |
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.
Highlands County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Florida counties.
Highlands County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,353 +4.5% | 0.72% |
| 2023 | $1,295 +11.3% | 0.73% |
| 2022 | $1,164 +15.7% | 0.75% |
| 2021 | $1,006 +8.8% | 0.76% |
| 2020 | $925 | 0.77% |
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.
Highlands County: tax-to-income at 2.5%
Counties near Highlands County's effective rate
On effective rate, Highlands County sits nearest Lassen County (CA), Prairie County (AR), Franklin County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Monroe County (KY), Greene County (IA), Parke County (IN).
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
Highlands County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,390 of 48,100 returns from Highlands County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,381 - 29% 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 Florida
Highlands County rate FAQs
- How does Highlands County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Highlands County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.72% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Highlands County, Florida?
- The median annual property tax in Highlands County is $1,353, an effective rate of 0.72% on a $187,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Highlands County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Highlands County jumped 46.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $925 to $1,353, 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 tax affordability score for Highlands County?
- Highlands County, Florida scores C- (50/100) 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 bill size at C+ ($1,353/yr). 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 Highlands County?
- Property taxes in Highlands County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $54,897 median household income.
What to do with Highlands County's UNDER rate
Highlands County's $1,353 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 →
Highlands County ranks #35 of 67 Florida counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Florida overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Highlands County's UNDER 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: 0.72%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,353/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Highlands County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Highlands County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Furnas County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Highlands County at $1,353/yr; rate 1.38% vs Highlands County 0.72%.
Tate County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,354/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.65% vs Highlands County 0.72%.
Daviess County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,351/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.69% vs Highlands County 0.72%.
Grenada County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,355/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.02% vs Highlands County 0.72%.
Florida county set
State ACS overview for every published Florida county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Highlands County stamps UNDER · 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 Highlands County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.