Nebraska · County property tax · ACS 2024
Jefferson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Jefferson County pays $1,886 a year, an effective rate of 1.46%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,886
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.46%
- Effective rate · High rate
- -5%
- vs U.S. average
- #13 of 93
- rank in NE
The verdict
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median $1,886 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.46%, more affordable than 12% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,886
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.46%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2750 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -5%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($129,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Nebraska. Population: 7,161. Owner-occupied homes: 2,348.
The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $1,886, which is 47% lower than the Nebraska state average and 5% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.46% on a median home value of $129,500. Property taxes represent 3.2% 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 1.46% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 12%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Nebraska median
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median annual property tax of $1,886, modestly below the national median and well below the Nebraska state median. On a $129,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.46% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Nebraska counties by effective rate
Jefferson County ranks #13 of 93 counties in Nebraska by effective rate (86% 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 climbed 10.4%, from $1,709 to $1,886. 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 Jefferson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $59,044 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 35% from $1,395 to $1,886. 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: 584 of 2,348 owner-occupied homes (24.9%) 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.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 3.2% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned 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 Jefferson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Jefferson County homeowners, 584 of 2,348 owner-occupied homes (24.9%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 11.8% (278)
- $800 to $1,499 24.7% (580)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.2% (357)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.9% (468)
- $3,000 or more 24.9% (584)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
81 homes here (3.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Nebraska handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Jefferson County, mortgaged homeowners pay 19% 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 86% of the 93 counties in Nebraska - ranking #13 of 93.
Where Jefferson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.46% more affordable than 12% 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 $1,395 in the 2020 release to $1,886 in 2024, a change of about 35%. 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 | Nebraska 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 | 3.2% | - | - |
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's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Jefferson County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $129,500 median home carries a $1,886 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $189 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Nebraska.
Jefferson County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,886 +10.4% | 1.46% |
| 2023 | $1,709 +2.8% | 1.45% |
| 2022 | $1,663 +13.2% | 1.43% |
| 2021 | $1,469 +5.3% | 1.45% |
| 2020 | $1,395 | 1.41% |
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 3.2%
Counties near Jefferson County's effective rate
On effective rate, Jefferson County sits nearest Baltimore city (MD), Wyandotte County (KS), Riley County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Mills County (TX), Logan County (KY), Dorchester County (SC).
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 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 80 of 3,380 returns from Jefferson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,925 - 50% 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 Nebraska
Jefferson County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Jefferson County?
- Jefferson County, Nebraska scores F (35/100) 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.
- How does Jefferson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.46% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Jefferson County, Nebraska?
- The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $1,886, an effective rate of 1.46% on a $129,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Jefferson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Jefferson County is recorded at $1,886 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,395 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 2,348 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 within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $59,044 median household income.
What to do with Jefferson County's STEEP rate
Inside Nebraska, Jefferson County's $1,886 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Nebraska overview →
Jefferson County ranks #13 of 93 Nebraska counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Nebraska overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Jefferson County's STEEP 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: 1.46%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,886/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 (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Monroe County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Jefferson County at $1,886/yr; rate 0.70% vs Jefferson County 1.46%.
Montgomery County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,887/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.68% vs Jefferson County 1.46%.
Pawnee County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,887/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 2.03% vs Jefferson County 1.46%.
Polk County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,888/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.99% vs Jefferson County 1.46%.
Nebraska county set
State ACS overview for every published Nebraska county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Jefferson County stamps STEEP · MID - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.