Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Jefferson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Jefferson County pays $2,136 a year, an effective rate of 0.86%, modestly above the U.S. average.
- $2,136
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.86%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +7%
- vs U.S. average
- #14 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median $2,136 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.86%, more affordable than 46% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,136
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.86%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1703 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 ($248,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 783,022. Owner-occupied homes: 205,981.
The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $2,136, which is 38% higher than the Kentucky state average and 7% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.86% on a median home value of $248,400. Property taxes represent 3.1% of the median household income in this county.
Jefferson County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Jefferson County's 0.86% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 46%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Kentucky counties by effective rate
Jefferson County ranks #14 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (88% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits above the Kentucky median
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median annual property tax of $2,136, modestly above the national median and well above the Kentucky state median. On a $248,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.86% 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 Jefferson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.1% of the $69,866 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Jefferson 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 39.5%, the median bill rose 30.9% to $2,136: 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 31% from $1,632 to $2,136. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 61,738 of 205,981 owner-occupied homes (30.0%) 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.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 3.1% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.
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 Jefferson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Jefferson County homeowners, 61,738 of 205,981 owner-occupied homes (30.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.7% (19,937)
- $800 to $1,499 20.3% (41,823)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.5% (31,833)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.2% (43,736)
- $3,000 or more 30.0% (61,738)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
6,914 homes here (3.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Jefferson County, mortgaged homeowners pay 13% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Jefferson County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Jefferson County's effective rate is higher than 88% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #14 of 120.
Where Jefferson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.86% more affordable than 46% 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 Jefferson County moved from $1,632 in the 2020 release to $2,136 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.
Jefferson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Jefferson County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.1% | - | - |
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.
Jefferson County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Jefferson County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,136 +5.6% | 0.86% |
| 2023 | $2,023 +6.2% | 0.85% |
| 2022 | $1,905 +9.0% | 0.86% |
| 2021 | $1,748 +7.1% | 0.92% |
| 2020 | $1,632 | 0.92% |
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.
Jefferson County: tax-to-income at 3.1%
Counties near Jefferson County's effective rate
On effective rate, Jefferson County sits nearest St. Joseph County (IN), Tift County (GA), Muscogee County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Coryell County (TX), Moore County (NC), 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
Jefferson County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 25,580 of 375,300 returns from Jefferson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,192 - 31% 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
Jefferson County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Jefferson County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $2,136, an effective rate of 0.86% on a $248,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Jefferson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run modestly above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.86% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Jefferson County?
- Jefferson County, Kentucky scores D (41/100) 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 mortgage premium at C (+$248). 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 Jefferson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Jefferson County jumped 30.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,632 to $2,136, 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 Jefferson County?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.1% of the $69,866 median household income.
What to do with Jefferson County's UNDER rate
Inside Kentucky, Jefferson County's $2,136 median bill runs high versus the state median - compare the rest of the state before judging the burden. Kentucky overview →
Jefferson County ranks #14 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 Jefferson 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: 0.86%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,136/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Jefferson County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Jefferson County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Webster County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,138/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.39% vs Jefferson County 0.86%.
Liberty County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,133/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.17% vs Jefferson County 0.86%.
Burnett County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,140/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.93% vs Jefferson County 0.86%.
Schuylkill County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,140/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.40% vs Jefferson County 0.86%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Jefferson 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 Jefferson County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.