Mississippi · County property tax · ACS 2024
Kemper County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Kemper County pays $563 a year, an effective rate of 0.57%, far below the U.S. average.
- $563
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.57%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -72%
- vs U.S. average
- #71 of 81
- rank in MS
The verdict
Homeowners in Kemper County pay a median $563 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.57%, more affordable than 75% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $563
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.57%
- Effective rate on median home
- #782 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -72%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($99,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Kemper County, MS
82/100
5 ACS dimensions · release 2024
Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Kemper County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median tax as a share of Kemper County's median household income
Median home value relative to Kemper County's median income
Kemper County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Kemper County
Read the chart values
- Bill size: 96/100 (A+) · $563/yr
- Income room: 94/100 (A+) · 1.2%
- Housing pressure: 83/100 (A-) · 2.15×
- Rate relief: 75/100 (B+) · 0.57%
- Mortgage premium: 57/100 (C) · +$249
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Mississippi. Population: 8,729. Owner-occupied homes: 2,546.
The median annual property tax in Kemper County is $563, which is 54% lower than the Mississippi state average and 72% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.57% on a median home value of $99,600. Property taxes represent 1.2% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Kemper County
Primary signal
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Kemper County pay a median annual property tax of $563, far below the national median and far below the Mississippi state median. On a $99,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.57% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
High among Mississippi counties by effective rate
Kemper County ranks #71 of 81 counties in Mississippi by effective rate (12% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Kemper County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.2% of the $46,431 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Kemper County's 0.57% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 75%).
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 4.5%, from $539 to $563. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Kemper County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making decisions that depend on these numbers.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 44% from $390 to $563. 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 990 of 2,546 owner-occupied homes (38.9%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 1.2% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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.
Paying off the mortgage changes the picture here
41.2% of Kemper County homes owned free and clear (797 of 1,933) report no property tax at all, against 18.8% of homes still carrying a mortgage. A reported zero is not proof of an exemption: it can equally mean a bill paid by another party, or a reporting artefact. But a gap this size is where age- and disability-based relief usually shows up, because those programmes reach owners who have finished paying.
What Kemper County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Kemper County homeowners, 990 of 2,546 owner-occupied homes (38.9%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 38.9% (990)
- $800 to $1,499 13.3% (338)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.2% (106)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.0% (127)
- $3,000 or more 2.9% (73)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
912 homes here (35.8%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Kemper County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how Mississippi handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Kemper County pay a substantially higher bill, 46% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
How Kemper County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Kemper County's effective rate is higher than 12% of the 81 counties in Mississippi - ranking #71 of 81 for property tax burden.
Where Kemper County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.57% Among the most affordable more affordable than 75% 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 Kemper County moved from $390 in the 2020 release to $563 in 2024, a change of about 44%. 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.
Kemper County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Kemper County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.2% | - | - |
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.
Kemper County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - still check the parcel card
On Kemper County's published figures (QUIET · LIGHT), a $99,600 median home carries a $563 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $56 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in Mississippi.
Property Tax History · QUIET · LIGHT
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $563 +4.5% | 0.57% |
| 2023 | $539 +7.8% | 0.60% |
| 2022 | $500 +16.8% | 0.56% |
| 2021 | $428 +9.7% | 0.55% |
| 2020 | $390 | 0.50% |
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.
Tax Burden
Tax Affordability Score
An effective rate well below the national average of 0.92% puts Kemper County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.
How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Kemper County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Kemper County sits nearest Lafayette Parish (LA), Russell County (KY), Laurel County (KY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Sussex County (VA), Avery County (NC), Lac qui Parle County (MN).
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
What tax filers report in Kemper County
Of the 3,740 federal returns filed from Kemper County in 2022, 60 (1.6% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $1,183 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $50-75k, who accounted for 67% of the county's reporting returns.
Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Mississippi
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Kemper County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Kemper County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Kemper County? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Kemper County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Kemper County, Mississippi? ▼
What to do with Kemper County's numbers
- Kemper County's $563 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 1.2% of Kemper County's $46,431 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
- Kemper County ranks #71 of 81 Mississippi counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Mississippi overview →
- If Kemper County's assessment looks high versus the $99,600 typical home, check Mississippi's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition
Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($99,600); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
Nationwide peers by effective rate & median bill
Two PlainPropertyTax-derived comparison paths for Kemper County, both outside Mississippi so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice. Axes stay disjoint: median-bill peers exclude the effective-rate peer set.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.57%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $563/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Kemper County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Kemper County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Choctaw County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kemper County at $563/yr; rate 0.48% vs Kemper County 0.57%.
Leslie County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kemper County at $563/yr; rate 0.82% vs Kemper County 0.57%.
Wayne County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kemper County at $563/yr; rate 0.52% vs Kemper County 0.57%.
Barbour County, WV
ABS(median_tax) peer · $562/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.43% vs Kemper County 0.57%.
Mississippi county set
State ACS overview for every published Mississippi county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Kemper 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.
Share and download this county card
Editorial standards and provenance
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Kemper County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.