Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024
Howard County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Howard County pays $1,853 a year, an effective rate of 1.25%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,853
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.25%
- Effective rate · High rate
- -7%
- vs U.S. average
- #67 of 99
- rank in IA
The verdict
Homeowners in Howard County pay a median $1,853 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.25%, more affordable than 21% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,853
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.25%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2467 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -7%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($147,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 9,445. Owner-occupied homes: 2,921.
The median annual property tax in Howard County is $1,853, which is 36% lower than the Iowa state average and 7% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.25% on a median home value of $147,800. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.
Howard County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Howard County's 1.25% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 21%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Iowa median
Homeowners in Howard County pay a median annual property tax of $1,853, modestly below the national median and well below the Iowa state median. On a $147,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.25% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Iowa counties by effective rate
Howard County ranks #67 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (32% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 6.3%, from $1,744 to $1,853. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Howard County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $67,446 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Howard 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 31% from $1,415 to $1,853. 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 792 of 2,921 owner-occupied homes (27.1%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
The rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 2.7% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to here.
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 Howard County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Howard County homeowners, 792 of 2,921 owner-occupied homes (27.1%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.7% (283)
- $800 to $1,499 27.1% (792)
- $1,500 to $1,999 17.4% (508)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.1% (586)
- $3,000 or more 23.9% (699)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
53 homes here (1.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Howard County pay about the same bill, a 4% gap.
Howard County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Howard County's effective rate is higher than 32% of the 99 counties in Iowa - ranking #67 of 99.
Where Howard County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.25% more affordable than 21% 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 Howard County moved from $1,415 in the 2020 release to $1,853 in 2024, a change of about 31%. 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.
Howard County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Howard County | Iowa Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.7% | - | - |
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.
Howard County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Iowa counties.
Howard County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,853 +6.3% | 1.25% |
| 2023 | $1,744 +6.6% | 1.30% |
| 2022 | $1,636 +10.0% | 1.31% |
| 2021 | $1,487 +5.1% | 1.31% |
| 2020 | $1,415 | 1.34% |
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.
Howard County: tax-to-income at 2.7%
Counties near Howard County's effective rate
On effective rate, Howard County sits nearest Sumter County (GA), Thomas County (NE), Clermont County (OH).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Butler County (NE), Santa Clara County (CA), Johnson County (KS).
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
Howard County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 140 of 4,590 returns from Howard County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,607 - 36% of those reporters sat in the $50-75k 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 Iowa
Howard County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Howard County, Iowa?
- The median annual property tax in Howard County is $1,853, an effective rate of 1.25% on a $147,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Howard County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Howard County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.25% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Howard County?
- Howard County, Iowa scores D (46/100) 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 housing pressure at A- (2.19×). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Howard County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Howard County is recorded at $1,853 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,415 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 2,921 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Howard County?
- Property taxes in Howard County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $67,446 median household income.
What to do with Howard County's PAR rate
Inside Iowa, Howard County's $1,853 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Iowa overview →
Howard County ranks #67 of 99 Iowa counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Iowa overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Howard County's PAR 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: 1.25%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,853/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Howard County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Howard County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Hocking County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,852/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.99% vs Howard County 1.25%.
Jasper County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,852/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.57% vs Howard County 1.25%.
Dorchester County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,851/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.56% vs Howard County 1.25%.
Cumberland County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,850/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.93% vs Howard County 1.25%.
Iowa county set
State ACS overview for every published Iowa county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Howard County stamps PAR · 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 Howard County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.