Mississippi · County property tax · ACS 2024
Jefferson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Jefferson County pays $698 a year, an effective rate of 0.86%, far below the U.S. average.
- $698
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.86%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -65%
- vs U.S. average
- #19 of 81
- rank in MS
The verdict
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median $698 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.86%, more affordable than 46% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $698
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.86%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1703 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -65%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($81,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Mississippi. Population: 7,068. Owner-occupied homes: 2,068.
The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $698, which is 43% lower than the Mississippi state average and 65% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.86% on a median home value of $81,300. Property taxes represent 1.8% of the median household income in this county.
Why Jefferson County's ACS bill runs light vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median annual property tax of $698, far below the national median and well below the Mississippi state median. On a $81,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.86% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Mississippi counties by effective rate
Jefferson County ranks #19 of 81 counties in Mississippi by effective rate (77% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Jefferson County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $38,305 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill down
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has declined 14.5%, from $816 to $698. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
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%).
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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 40% from $498 to $698. 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 largest single group of owner-occupied homes in this county reports no real estate tax at all: 1,150 of 2,068 homes (55.6%). When that group leads, the county median does not describe the most common reported amount.
This county earns in the bottom quarter of the country and taxes above the median rate, so the median bill absorbs 1.8% 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 Jefferson County Homeowners Actually Pay
Most Jefferson County homeowners are not billed at all: 1,150 of 2,068 owner-occupied homes (55.6%) report no real estate tax. A median bill describes only the minority who pay one.
- Less than $800 25.4% (525)
- $800 to $1,499 12.9% (266)
- $1,500 to $1,999 1.4% (29)
- $2,000 to $2,999 2.2% (46)
- $3,000 or more 2.5% (52)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,150 homes here (55.6%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Jefferson County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how Mississippi handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Jefferson County pay a substantially higher bill, 39% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Jefferson County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Jefferson County's LIGHT ACS 2024 figure.
Jefferson County's median bill is 43% below the Mississippi median and 65% below the U.S. median.
A high rate, a smaller bill
Jefferson County taxes property at 0.86%, about 19% above the Mississippi average, yet its median bill of $698 lands roughly 43% 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.
Jefferson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Jefferson County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 1.8% | - | - |
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.
Jefferson County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Mississippi counties.
Jefferson County bill trail · LIGHT
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $698 -14.5% | 0.86% |
| 2023 | $816 -3.7% | 1.00% |
| 2022 | $847 +54.0% | 1.11% |
| 2021 | $550 +10.4% | 0.85% |
| 2020 | $498 | 0.80% |
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 takes only 1.8% of income
Counties near Jefferson County's median bill
On effective rate, Jefferson County sits nearest Swift County (MN), Pipestone County (MN), Pine County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Cowlitz County (WA), Lincoln County (OK), Woods County (OK).
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 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 130 of 2,970 returns from Jefferson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,354 - 31% of those reporters sat in the $25-50k 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 Mississippi
Jefferson County bill FAQs
- How does Jefferson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.86% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Jefferson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Jefferson County is recorded at $698 in the 2024 5-year release against $498 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 2,068 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 Jefferson County?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $38,305 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Jefferson County, Mississippi?
- The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $698, an effective rate of 0.86% on a $81,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Jefferson County?
- Jefferson County, Mississippi scores B- (67/100) 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 A+ ($698/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 to do with Jefferson County's LIGHT bill
Jefferson County's $698 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 →
Income burden is light here: about 1.8% of Jefferson County's $38,305 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Jefferson County's LIGHT median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
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: $698/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 · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Laurens County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Jefferson County at $698/yr; rate 0.41% vs Jefferson County 0.86%.
Huerfano County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $699/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.28% vs Jefferson County 0.86%.
Prairie County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $696/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.72% vs Jefferson County 0.86%.
Magoffin County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $694/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.78% vs Jefferson County 0.86%.
Mississippi county set
State ACS overview for every published Mississippi county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Jefferson 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 Jefferson County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.