Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Hill County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Hill County pays $1,980 a year, an effective rate of 0.98%, roughly in line with the U.S. average.
- $1,980
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.98%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -1%
- vs U.S. average
- #9 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Hill County pay a median $1,980 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.98%, more affordable than 37% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,980
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.98%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1972 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -1%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($202,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 16,155. Owner-occupied homes: 4,101.
The median annual property tax in Hill County is $1,980, which is 26% lower than the Montana state average and 1% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.98% on a median home value of $202,600. Property taxes represent 3.8% of the median household income in this county.
Hill County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Hill County's 0.98% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 37%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Montana counties by effective rate
Hill County ranks #9 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (84% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the Montana median
Homeowners in Hill County pay a median annual property tax of $1,980, roughly in line with the national median and well below the Montana state median. On a $202,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.98% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Hill County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.8% of the $52,798 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Hill 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
Hill County's effective rate fell 13.0% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 31.7%, leaving the median bill 14.6% higher at $1,980. That rate move is larger than the one in 54% 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 $1,727 to $1,980, a gain of 15%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The plurality of owner-occupied homes here falls in the $2,000 to $2,999 band, at 1,052 of 4,101 (25.7%). This shows the reported distribution around the county median, while individual assessments can vary.
This county earns in the bottom quarter of the country and taxes above the median rate, so the median bill absorbs 3.8% of median household income. The rate alone understates that; it is the pairing that matters.
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 Hill County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Hill County homeowners, 1,052 of 4,101 owner-occupied homes (25.7%), pays $2,000 to $2,999 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 11.6% (476)
- $800 to $1,499 21.1% (865)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.8% (525)
- $2,000 to $2,999 25.7% (1,052)
- $3,000 or more 18.8% (773)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
410 homes here (10.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Hill County pay a substantially higher bill, 39% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Hill County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Hill County's effective rate is higher than 84% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #9 of 56.
Where Hill County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.98% more affordable than 37% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Hill County taxes property at 0.98%, about 36% above the Montana average, yet its median bill of $1,980 lands roughly 26% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Hill County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Hill County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.8% | - | - |
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.
Hill County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Hill County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,980 -2.3% | 0.98% |
| 2023 | $2,026 +0.3% | 1.08% |
| 2022 | $2,019 +10.3% | 1.10% |
| 2021 | $1,830 +6.0% | 1.09% |
| 2020 | $1,727 | 1.12% |
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.
Hill County: tax-to-income at 3.8%
Counties near Hill County's effective rate
On effective rate, Hill County sits nearest Humphreys County (MS), Wright County (MN), Dakota County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Brown County (WI), Tazewell County (IL), Perkins County (SD).
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
Hill County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 230 of 7,500 returns from Hill County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,257 - 39% 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 Montana
Hill County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Hill County?
- Hill County, Montana scores F (30/100) 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 F ($1,980/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 is the average property tax in Hill County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Hill County is $1,980, an effective rate of 0.98% on a $202,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Hill County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Hill County run roughly in line with the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.98% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Hill County?
- Property taxes in Hill County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.8% of the $52,798 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Hill County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Hill County climbed 14.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,727 to $1,980, 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 Hill County's UNDER rate
Inside Montana, Hill County's $1,980 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Montana overview →
Hill County ranks #9 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Hill 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: 0.98%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,980/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Hill County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Hill County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Laramie County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Hill County at $1,980/yr; rate 0.57% vs Hill County 0.98%.
Hanson County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,979/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.04% vs Hill County 0.98%.
Shelby County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,981/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.95% vs Hill County 0.98%.
Gaston County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,982/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.75% vs Hill County 0.98%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Hill County stamps UNDER · 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 Hill County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.