Oklahoma · County property tax · ACS 2024
Kay County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Kay County pays $821 a year, an effective rate of 0.66%, far below the U.S. average.
- $821
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.66%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -59%
- vs U.S. average
- #30 of 77
- rank in OK
The verdict
Homeowners in Kay County pay a median $821 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.66%, more affordable than 64% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $821
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.66%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1116 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -59%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($124,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Oklahoma. Population: 43,625. Owner-occupied homes: 11,609.
The median annual property tax in Kay County is $821, which is 49% lower than the Oklahoma state average and 59% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.66% on a median home value of $124,700. Property taxes represent 1.4% of the median household income in this county.
Kay County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Kay County's 0.66% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 64%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Kay County pay a median annual property tax of $821, far below the national median and well below the Oklahoma state median. On a $124,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.66% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Kay County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.4% of the $58,423 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Oklahoma counties by effective rate
Kay County ranks #30 of 77 counties in Oklahoma by effective rate (61% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Kay 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Kay County's effective rate fell 13.3% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 29.0%, leaving the median bill 11.9% higher at $821. That rate move is larger than the one in 55% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 $734 to $821, a gain of 12%. 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: 5,379 of 11,609 owner-occupied homes (46.3%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 1.4% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Kay County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Kay County homeowners, 5,379 of 11,609 owner-occupied homes (46.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 46.3% (5,379)
- $800 to $1,499 25.0% (2,906)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.8% (1,025)
- $2,000 to $2,999 9.5% (1,104)
- $3,000 or more 5.1% (588)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
607 homes here (5.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Oklahoma handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Kay County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+67%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Kay County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Kay County's effective rate is higher than 61% of the 77 counties in Oklahoma - ranking #30 of 77.
Where Kay County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.66% Among the most affordable more affordable than 64% 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
Below Oklahoma on both measures
Kay County's effective rate runs 17% under the Oklahoma median and its bill 49% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $821 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Oklahoma norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Kay County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Kay County | Oklahoma Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.4% | - | - |
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.
Kay County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Oklahoma counties.
Kay County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $821 +2.8% | 0.66% |
| 2023 | $799 +4.7% | 0.68% |
| 2022 | $763 +5.1% | 0.68% |
| 2021 | $726 -1.1% | 0.75% |
| 2020 | $734 | 0.76% |
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.
Kay County: tax takes only 1.4% of income
Counties near Kay County's effective rate
On effective rate, Kay County sits nearest McHenry County (ND), Meagher County (MT), Stoddard County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Presque Isle County (MI), Columbia County (NY), Prairie County (MT).
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
Kay County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 560 of 18,820 returns from Kay County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,395 - 38% 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 Oklahoma
Kay County rate FAQs
- How does Kay County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Kay County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.66% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Kay County?
- Kay County, Oklahoma scores B (72/100) 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 income room at A (1.4%). 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 Kay County, Oklahoma?
- The median annual property tax in Kay County is $821, an effective rate of 0.66% on a $124,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Kay County?
- Property taxes in Kay County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.4% of the $58,423 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Kay County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Kay County climbed 11.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $734 to $821, 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 Kay County's QUIET rate
Kay County's $821 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 →
Income burden is light here: about 1.4% of Kay County's $58,423 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Kay 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: 0.66%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $821/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Kay County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Kay County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Carroll County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kay County at $821/yr; rate 0.58% vs Kay County 0.66%.
Webster County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kay County at $821/yr; rate 0.68% vs Kay County 0.66%.
Brunswick County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $820/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.57% vs Kay County 0.66%.
Copiah County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $820/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.72% vs Kay County 0.66%.
Oklahoma county set
State ACS overview for every published Oklahoma county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Kay County stamps QUIET · 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 Kay County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.