Mississippi · County property tax · ACS 2024
Lafayette County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Lafayette County pays $1,719 a year, an effective rate of 0.55%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,719
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.55%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -14%
- vs U.S. average
- #74 of 81
- rank in MS
The verdict
Homeowners in Lafayette County pay a median $1,719 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.55%, more affordable than 78% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,719
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.55%
- Effective rate on median home
- #694 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -14%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($315,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Mississippi. Population: 58,327. Owner-occupied homes: 12,145.
The median annual property tax in Lafayette County is $1,719, which is 41% higher than the Mississippi state average and 14% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.55% on a median home value of $315,400. Property taxes represent 2.6% of the median household income in this county.
Lafayette County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Lafayette County's 0.55% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 78%).
Decision signal 2
High among Mississippi counties by effective rate
Lafayette County ranks #74 of 81 counties in Mississippi by effective rate (9% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits above the Mississippi median
Homeowners in Lafayette County pay a median annual property tax of $1,719, notably lower than the national median and well above the Mississippi state median. On a $315,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.55% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Lafayette County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $67,185 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Lafayette 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 Lafayette County rose 44.7%, from $217,900 to $315,400. The effective rate fell 22.7% over the same span, a steeper move than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 11.9%, to $1,719. 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 $1,536 to $1,719, 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 3,107 of 12,145 owner-occupied homes (25.6%) 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.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 2.6% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
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 Lafayette County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Lafayette County homeowners, 3,107 of 12,145 owner-occupied homes (25.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 24.8% (3,009)
- $800 to $1,499 16.0% (1,944)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.3% (1,124)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.1% (1,708)
- $3,000 or more 25.6% (3,107)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,253 homes here (10.3%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Mississippi handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Lafayette County, mortgaged homeowners pay 27% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Lafayette County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Lafayette County's effective rate is higher than 9% of the 81 counties in Mississippi - ranking #74 of 81.
Where Lafayette County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.55% Among the most affordable more affordable than 78% 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
A low rate, a bigger bill
Lafayette County taxes property at 0.55%, roughly 24% below the Mississippi average, and still bills a median $1,719, about 41% above the state figure. Because the effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, that combination means local home values run well ahead of the state norm: a gentler rate applied to a larger base.
Lafayette County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Lafayette County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.6% | - | - |
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.
Lafayette County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Mississippi counties.
Lafayette County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,719 +2.8% | 0.55% |
| 2023 | $1,672 +6.7% | 0.64% |
| 2022 | $1,567 +8.7% | 0.65% |
| 2021 | $1,442 -6.1% | 0.65% |
| 2020 | $1,536 | 0.70% |
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.
Lafayette County: tax-to-income at 2.6%
Counties near Lafayette County's effective rate
On effective rate, Lafayette County sits nearest Aitkin County (MN), Rapides Parish (LA), Wolfe County (KY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Orange County (NC), Meriwether County (GA), Presque Isle County (MI).
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
Lafayette County: only 8% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,720 of 22,350 returns from Lafayette County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,945 - 47% 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 Mississippi
Lafayette County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Lafayette County, Mississippi?
- The median annual property tax in Lafayette County is $1,719, an effective rate of 0.55% on a $315,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Lafayette County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Lafayette County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.55% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Lafayette County?
- Lafayette County, Mississippi scores C- (51/100) 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 rate relief at B+ (0.55%). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Lafayette County?
- Property taxes in Lafayette County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $67,185 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Lafayette County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Lafayette County climbed 11.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,536 to $1,719, 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 Lafayette County's QUIET rate
Inside Mississippi, Lafayette County's $1,719 median bill runs high versus the state median - compare the rest of the state before judging the burden. Mississippi overview →
Lafayette County ranks #74 of 81 Mississippi counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Mississippi overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Lafayette 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: 0.55%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,719/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Lafayette County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Lafayette County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Huntingdon County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,718/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.94% vs Lafayette County 0.55%.
Kiowa County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,720/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.11% vs Lafayette County 0.55%.
Rooks County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,718/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.93% vs Lafayette County 0.55%.
Candler County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,721/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.08% vs Lafayette County 0.55%.
Mississippi county set
State ACS overview for every published Mississippi county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Lafayette County stamps QUIET · MID - 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 Lafayette County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.