Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Laurel County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Laurel County pays $906 a year, an effective rate of 0.57%, far below the U.S. average.
- $906
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.57%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -55%
- vs U.S. average
- #106 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Laurel County pay a median $906 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.57%, more affordable than 75% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $906
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.57%
- Effective rate on median home
- #782 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -55%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($159,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 62,983. Owner-occupied homes: 17,185.
The median annual property tax in Laurel County is $906, which is 41% lower than the Kentucky state average and 55% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.57% on a median home value of $159,500. Property taxes represent 1.6% of the median household income in this county.
Laurel County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Laurel County's 0.57% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 75%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Laurel County pay a median annual property tax of $906, far below the national median and well below the Kentucky state median. On a $159,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.57% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Kentucky counties by effective rate
Laurel County ranks #106 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (12% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Laurel County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $57,771 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Laurel 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 8.9% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 64% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 37.1%, the median bill rose 25.0% to $906: 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 $725 to $906, 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: 6,940 of 17,185 owner-occupied homes (40.4%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Household income sits in the second quarter nationally and the effective rate in the lowest, so the median bill takes 1.6% of median household income. Both figures point the same way, which is unusual enough that the ratio above is worth reading rather than assumed.
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 Laurel County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Laurel County homeowners, 6,940 of 17,185 owner-occupied homes (40.4%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 40.4% (6,940)
- $800 to $1,499 30.8% (5,285)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.8% (1,691)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.9% (1,008)
- $3,000 or more 3.4% (588)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,673 homes here (9.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Laurel County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+100%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Laurel County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Laurel County's effective rate is higher than 12% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #106 of 120.
Where Laurel 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 Laurel County moved from $725 in the 2020 release to $906 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.
Laurel County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Laurel County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.6% | - | - |
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.
Laurel County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Laurel County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $906 +7.2% | 0.57% |
| 2023 | $845 +1.3% | 0.59% |
| 2022 | $834 +13.3% | 0.59% |
| 2021 | $736 +1.5% | 0.63% |
| 2020 | $725 | 0.62% |
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.
Laurel County: tax takes only 1.6% of income
Counties near Laurel County's effective rate
On effective rate, Laurel County sits nearest Steuben County (IN), Glynn County (GA), Dade County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Sequoyah County (OK), Taney County (MO), Genesee 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
Laurel County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 590 of 25,110 returns from Laurel County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,486 - 36% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k 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 Kentucky
Laurel County rate FAQs
- How does Laurel County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Laurel County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.57% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Laurel County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Laurel County is $906, an effective rate of 0.57% on a $159,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Laurel County?
- Laurel County, Kentucky scores B- (69/100) 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- (1.6%). 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 Laurel County?
- Property taxes in Laurel County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $57,771 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Laurel County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Laurel County jumped 25.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $725 to $906, 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 Laurel County's QUIET rate
Laurel County's $906 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 1.6% of Laurel County's $57,771 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Laurel 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: 0.57%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $906/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Laurel County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Laurel County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Buckingham County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Laurel County at $906/yr; rate 0.52% vs Laurel County 0.57%.
Carter County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $904/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.45% vs Laurel County 0.57%.
Harrison County, WV
ABS(median_tax) peer · $908/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.55% vs Laurel County 0.57%.
Motley County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $904/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.03% vs Laurel County 0.57%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Laurel 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 Laurel County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.