Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024
Johnson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Johnson County pays $4,681 a year, an effective rate of 1.52%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,681
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.52%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +135%
- vs U.S. average
- #11 of 99
- rank in IA
The verdict
Homeowners in Johnson County pay a median $4,681 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.52%, more affordable than 10% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,681
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.52%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2821 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +135%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($308,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 156,639. Owner-occupied homes: 37,605.
The median annual property tax in Johnson County is $4,681, which is 62% higher than the Iowa state average and 135% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.52% on a median home value of $308,600. Property taxes represent 6.2% of the median household income in this county.
Why Johnson County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Johnson County pay a median annual property tax of $4,681, far above the national median and far above the Iowa state median. On a $308,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.52% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Johnson County run well above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 6.2% of the $74,935 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate is a national headwind
Johnson County's 1.52% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 90% pay more.
Decision signal 4
Low among Iowa counties by effective rate
Johnson County ranks #11 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (89% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Johnson 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 7.9% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 68% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 29.3%, the median bill rose 19.2% to $4,681: 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $3,928 to $4,681, a gain of 19%. 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: 28,444 of 37,605 owner-occupied homes (75.6%) 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 rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 6.2% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to 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 Johnson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Johnson County homeowners, 28,444 of 37,605 owner-occupied homes (75.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 6.3% (2,352)
- $800 to $1,499 3.2% (1,186)
- $1,500 to $1,999 2.8% (1,050)
- $2,000 to $2,999 8.7% (3,289)
- $3,000 or more 75.6% (28,444)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,284 homes here (3.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Johnson County pay about the same bill, a 7% gap.
Johnson County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Johnson County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Johnson County's median bill is 62% above the Iowa median and 135% above the U.S. median.
Among the highest-taxed counties in the country
At 1.52%, Johnson County sits in the top 10% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. That is the rate, not the bill: a high rate on a modest home can still produce a smaller cheque than a low rate on an expensive one, which is why the $4,681 median bill is the number to compare against another county.
Johnson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Johnson County | Iowa 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 | 6.2% | - | - |
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.
Is Johnson County's $4,681 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Johnson County's $4,681 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $468/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Iowa.
Johnson County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,681 +2.0% | 1.52% |
| 2023 | $4,587 +3.1% | 1.56% |
| 2022 | $4,451 +7.9% | 1.60% |
| 2021 | $4,125 +5.0% | 1.66% |
| 2020 | $3,928 | 1.65% |
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.
Johnson County: tax takes 6.2% of income
Counties near Johnson County's median bill
On effective rate, Johnson County sits nearest Brown County (IL), Ford County (KS), Greenwood County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Marion County (TN), Greenwood County (SC), Bates County (MO).
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
Johnson County: only 8% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 5,580 of 68,580 returns from Johnson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,982 - 33% of those reporters sat in the $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 Iowa
Johnson County bill FAQs
- How does Johnson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Johnson County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.52% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Johnson County?
- Property taxes in Johnson County run well above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 6.2% of the $74,935 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Johnson County, Iowa?
- The median annual property tax in Johnson County is $4,681, an effective rate of 1.52% on a $308,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Johnson County?
- Johnson County, Iowa scores F (12/100) 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- (+$298). 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 Johnson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Johnson County climbed 19.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,928 to $4,681, 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 Johnson County's HEAVY bill
Johnson County's $4,681 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 6.2% of Johnson County's $74,935 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Johnson 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: 1.52%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,681/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Johnson County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Johnson County (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Providence County, RI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,683/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.25% vs Johnson County 1.52%.
Nevada County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,694/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 0.75% vs Johnson County 1.52%.
Ellis County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,697/yr (near-tied bill ABS $16); rate 1.35% vs Johnson County 1.52%.
Northampton County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,700/yr (near-tied bill ABS $19); rate 1.52% vs Johnson County 1.52%.
Iowa county set
State ACS overview for every published Iowa county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Johnson 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 Johnson County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.