Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Jefferson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Jefferson County pays $2,446 a year, an effective rate of 0.55%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,446
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.55%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- +23%
- vs U.S. average
- #45 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median $2,446 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.55%, more affordable than 78% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,446
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.55%
- Effective rate on median home
- #694 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +23%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($446,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 12,774. Owner-occupied homes: 4,206.
The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $2,446, which is 9% lower than the Montana state average and 23% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.55% on a median home value of $446,900. Property taxes represent 2.6% 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 0.55% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 78%).
Decision signal 2
High among Montana counties by effective rate
Jefferson County ranks #45 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (20% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median annual property tax of $2,446, notably higher than the national median and modestly below the Montana state median. On a $446,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.55% 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 2.6% of the $95,490 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 7.6%, from $2,274 to $2,446. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
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 36% from $1,799 to $2,446. 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: 1,518 of 4,206 owner-occupied homes (36.1%) 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.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 2.6% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
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, 1,518 of 4,206 owner-occupied homes (36.1%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 8.9% (375)
- $800 to $1,499 13.0% (548)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.6% (697)
- $2,000 to $2,999 22.4% (941)
- $3,000 or more 36.1% (1,518)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
127 homes here (3.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Jefferson County, mortgaged homeowners pay 12% 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 20% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #45 of 56.
Where Jefferson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.55% Among the most affordable more affordable than 78% 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 $1,799 in the 2020 release to $2,446 in 2024, a change of about 36%. 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 | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.6% | - | - |
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 QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Jefferson County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,446 +7.6% | 0.55% |
| 2023 | $2,274 +7.6% | 0.56% |
| 2022 | $2,114 +14.8% | 0.60% |
| 2021 | $1,842 +2.4% | 0.61% |
| 2020 | $1,799 | 0.62% |
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 2.6%
Counties near Jefferson County's effective rate
On effective rate, Jefferson County sits nearest Taney County (MO), Polk County (MO), Oregon County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lawrence County (TN), Ramsey County (ND), Franklin 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 9% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 560 of 6,520 returns from Jefferson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,091 - 36% 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
Jefferson County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Jefferson County?
- Jefferson County, Montana scores D (49/100) 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 rate relief at B+ (0.55%). 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 Jefferson County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $2,446, an effective rate of 0.55% on a $446,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Jefferson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Jefferson County is recorded at $2,446 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,799 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 4,206 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.
- How does Jefferson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.55% versus 0.92% nationally.
- 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 2.6% of the $95,490 median household income.
What to do with Jefferson County's QUIET rate
At Jefferson County's 0.55% effective rate, a $446,900 home implies about $2,446/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
Jefferson County ranks #45 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Jefferson County's QUIET 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: 0.55%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,446/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 (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Union County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Jefferson County at $2,446/yr; rate 0.83% vs Jefferson County 0.55%.
Gage County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,447/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.41% vs Jefferson County 0.55%.
Haines Borough, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,445/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.83% vs Jefferson County 0.55%.
Fulton County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,444/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.28% vs Jefferson County 0.55%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Jefferson County stamps QUIET · 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 (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.