Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Lee County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Lee County pays $2,584 a year, an effective rate of 0.96%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,584
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.96%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +30%
- vs U.S. average
- #202 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Lee County pay a median $2,584 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.96%, more affordable than 39% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,584
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.96%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1923 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 ($267,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Lee County, TX
26/100
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.
Lee County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Median home value relative to Lee County's median income
Median tax as a share of Lee County's median household income
Lee County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Lee County
Read the chart values
- Rate relief: 39/100 (F) · 0.96%
- Housing pressure: 30/100 (F) · 3.51×
- Income room: 25/100 (F) · 3.4%
- Bill size: 23/100 (F) · $2,584/yr
- Mortgage premium: 0/100 (F) · +$1,683
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 17,971. Owner-occupied homes: 5,434.
The median annual property tax in Lee County is $2,584, which is 39% lower than the Texas state average and 30% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.96% on a median home value of $267,800. Property taxes represent 3.4% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Lee County
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Lee County pay a median annual property tax of $2,584, well above the national median and well below the Texas state median. On a $267,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.96% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
High among Texas counties by effective rate
Lee County ranks #202 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (19% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Lee County's 0.96% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 39%).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Lee County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.4% of the $76,371 median household income.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Lee 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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Lee County rose 64.5%, from $162,800 to $267,800. The effective rate fell 21.2% over the same span, a steeper move than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 29.7%, to $2,584. 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 30% from $1,993 to $2,584. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 2,227 of 5,434 owner-occupied homes (41.0%) 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.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 3.4% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 Lee County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Lee County homeowners, 2,227 of 5,434 owner-occupied homes (41.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 14.1% (766)
- $800 to $1,499 15.9% (866)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.7% (473)
- $2,000 to $2,999 13.4% (727)
- $3,000 or more 41.0% (2,227)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
375 homes here (6.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Lee County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+103%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
How Lee County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Lee County's effective rate is higher than 19% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #202 of 250 for property tax burden.
Where Lee County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.96% more affordable than 39% 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 Lee County moved from $1,993 in the 2020 release to $2,584 in 2024, a change of about 30%. 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.
Lee County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Lee County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.4% | - | - |
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.
Lee County stamps UNDER · MID - still check the parcel card
On Lee County's published figures (UNDER · MID), a $267,800 median home carries a $2,584 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $258 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 Texas.
Property Tax History · UNDER · MID
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,584 +7.7% | 0.96% |
| 2023 | $2,399 +10.5% | 0.97% |
| 2022 | $2,172 -0.8% | 1.04% |
| 2021 | $2,189 +9.8% | 1.16% |
| 2020 | $1,993 | 1.22% |
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 modestly above the national average of 0.92% puts Lee County in the "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 Lee County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Lee County sits nearest Hyde County (SD), Brule County (SD), Multnomah County (OR).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Morgan County (OH), Humboldt County (IA), Lincoln County (OR).
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 Lee County
Of the 8,590 federal returns filed from Lee County in 2022, 340 (4.0% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $6,900 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 32% 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 Texas
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Lee County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Lee County? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Lee County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Lee County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Lee County, Texas? ▼
What to do with Lee County's numbers
- Lee County's $2,584 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
- Lee County ranks #202 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
- If Lee County's assessment looks high versus the $267,800 typical home, check Texas'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 ($267,800); 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 Lee County, both outside Texas 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: 0.96%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,584/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Lee County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Lee County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Cabarrus County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,586/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.73% vs Lee County 0.96%.
Kanabec County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,582/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.13% vs Lee County 0.96%.
Tillamook County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,582/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.60% vs Lee County 0.96%.
Ford County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,587/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 2.12% vs Lee County 0.96%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Lee County stamps UNDER · 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.
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 Lee County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.