Wisconsin · County property tax · ACS 2024
Jefferson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Jefferson County pays $4,005 a year, an effective rate of 1.46%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,005
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.46%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +101%
- vs U.S. average
- #19 of 72
- rank in WI
The verdict
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median $4,005 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.46%, more affordable than 12% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,005
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.46%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2750 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +101%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($274,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Wisconsin. Population: 86,003. Owner-occupied homes: 25,502.
The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $4,005, which is 6% higher than the Wisconsin state average and 101% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.46% on a median home value of $274,100. Property taxes represent 4.8% of the median household income in this county.
Why Jefferson County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median annual property tax of $4,005, far above the national median and modestly above the Wisconsin state median. On a $274,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.46% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
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 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Jefferson County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.8% of the $83,750 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Wisconsin counties by effective rate
Jefferson County ranks #19 of 72 counties in Wisconsin by effective rate (74% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Jefferson County rose 41.1%, from $194,300 to $274,100. The effective rate fell 19.6% over the same span, a steeper move than in 81% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 13.5%, to $4,005. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $3,530 to $4,005, a gain of 13%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 18,903 of 25,502 owner-occupied homes (74.1%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 4.8% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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, 18,903 of 25,502 owner-occupied homes (74.1%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 3.3% (848)
- $800 to $1,499 2.5% (641)
- $1,500 to $1,999 2.4% (612)
- $2,000 to $2,999 15.1% (3,847)
- $3,000 or more 74.1% (18,903)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
651 homes here (2.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Wisconsin handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Jefferson County pay about the same bill, a 5% gap.
Jefferson County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Jefferson County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Jefferson County's median bill is 6% above the Wisconsin median and 101% above the U.S. median.
Close to the Wisconsin median on both measures
Rate and bill both land within 10% of the Wisconsin medians here, which makes Jefferson County a reasonable stand-in for the state when comparing against counties elsewhere. It also means the county-level figure adds little beyond the state figure for this particular comparison; the $4,005 median bill and the state median tell substantially the same story.
Jefferson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Jefferson County | Wisconsin Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.8% | - | - |
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.
Is Jefferson County's $4,005 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Jefferson County's $4,005 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $401/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Wisconsin.
Jefferson County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,005 +0.4% | 1.46% |
| 2023 | $3,988 +1.9% | 1.57% |
| 2022 | $3,914 +7.6% | 1.64% |
| 2021 | $3,639 +3.1% | 1.75% |
| 2020 | $3,530 | 1.82% |
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 4.8% of income
Counties near Jefferson County's median bill
On effective rate, Jefferson County sits nearest Victoria County (TX), Potter County (TX), Carbon County (PA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Bradford County (PA), San Augustine County (TX), Quitman County (MS).
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 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 2,360 of 42,630 returns from Jefferson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,930 - 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 Wisconsin
Jefferson County bill FAQs
- How does Jefferson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.46% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Jefferson County?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.8% of the $83,750 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Jefferson County, Wisconsin?
- The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $4,005, an effective rate of 1.46% on a $274,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Jefferson County?
- Jefferson County, Wisconsin scores F (21/100) 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 B- (+$187). 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 climbed 13.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,530 to $4,005, 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 to do with Jefferson County's HEAVY bill
Jefferson County's $4,005 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Jefferson County ranks #19 of 72 Wisconsin counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Wisconsin overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Jefferson County's HEAVY 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: 1.46%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,005/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 · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
York County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,006/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.61% vs Jefferson County 1.46%.
Broomfield County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,007/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.60% vs Jefferson County 1.46%.
Green County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,003/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.60% vs Jefferson County 1.46%.
Island County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,999/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 0.67% vs Jefferson County 1.46%.
Wisconsin county set
State ACS overview for every published Wisconsin county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Jefferson County stamps STEEP · HEAVY - 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 · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.