Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Karnes County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Karnes County pays $1,392 a year, an effective rate of 0.93%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,392
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.93%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -30%
- vs U.S. average
- #213 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Karnes County pay a median $1,392 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.93%, more affordable than 41% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,392
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.93%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1861 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -30%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($149,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 14,968. Owner-occupied homes: 2,953.
The median annual property tax in Karnes County is $1,392, which is 67% lower than the Texas state average and 30% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.93% on a median home value of $149,000. Property taxes represent 2.3% of the median household income in this county.
Karnes County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Karnes County's 0.93% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 41%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Karnes County pay a median annual property tax of $1,392, well below the national median and far below the Texas state median. On a $149,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.93% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Texas counties by effective rate
Karnes County ranks #213 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (15% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Karnes County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $60,214 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Karnes 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 8.2% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 67% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 36.1%, the median bill rose 25.0% to $1,392: 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 $1,114 to $1,392, a gain of 25%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 856 of 2,953 owner-occupied homes (29.0%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 2.3% of median household income. The gap between those two positions is the whole story on this page.
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 Karnes County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Karnes County homeowners, 856 of 2,953 owner-occupied homes (29.0%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 29.0% (856)
- $800 to $1,499 18.5% (546)
- $1,500 to $1,999 7.2% (214)
- $2,000 to $2,999 9.9% (292)
- $3,000 or more 24.6% (727)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
318 homes here (10.8%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Karnes County pay about the same bill, within a 4% gap either way.
Karnes County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Karnes County's effective rate is higher than 15% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #213 of 250.
Where Karnes County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.93% more affordable than 41% 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 Karnes County moved from $1,114 in the 2020 release to $1,392 in 2024, a change of about 25%. 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.
Karnes County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Karnes County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.3% | - | - |
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.
Karnes County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Texas counties.
Karnes County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,392 +3.6% | 0.93% |
| 2023 | $1,344 +5.0% | 0.98% |
| 2022 | $1,280 +15.0% | 0.93% |
| 2021 | $1,113 -0.1% | 0.99% |
| 2020 | $1,114 | 1.02% |
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.
Karnes County: tax-to-income at 2.3%
Counties near Karnes County's effective rate
On effective rate, Karnes County sits nearest Butte County (SD), Washington County (OH), Clinton County (OH).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Sequoyah County (OK), Caddo County (OK), Taylor County (KY).
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
Karnes County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 210 of 5,710 returns from Karnes County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,714 - 67% 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 Texas
Karnes County rate FAQs
- How does Karnes County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Karnes County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.93% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Karnes County, Texas?
- The median annual property tax in Karnes County is $1,392, an effective rate of 0.93% on a $149,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Karnes County?
- Karnes County, Texas scores C+ (60/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-60). 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 Karnes County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Karnes County jumped 25.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,114 to $1,392, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Karnes County?
- Property taxes in Karnes County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $60,214 median household income.
What to do with Karnes County's UNDER rate
Karnes County's $1,392 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 →
Karnes County ranks #213 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Karnes County's UNDER 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: 0.93%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,392/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Karnes County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Karnes County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Clay County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Karnes County at $1,392/yr; rate 1.43% vs Karnes County 0.93%.
Washakie County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Karnes County at $1,392/yr; rate 0.68% vs Karnes County 0.93%.
Bottineau County, ND
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,393/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.72% vs Karnes County 0.93%.
Glacier County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,391/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.84% vs Karnes County 0.93%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Karnes 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 Karnes County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.