South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Lincoln County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Lincoln County pays $3,990 a year, an effective rate of 1.15%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,990
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.15%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +100%
- vs U.S. average
- #17 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Lincoln County pay a median $3,990 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.15%, more affordable than 26% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,990
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.15%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2327 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +100%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($348,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 70,638. Owner-occupied homes: 19,861.
The median annual property tax in Lincoln County is $3,990, which is 46% higher than the South Dakota state average and 100% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.15% on a median home value of $348,300. Property taxes represent 4.0% of the median household income in this county.
Why Lincoln County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Lincoln County pay a median annual property tax of $3,990, far above the national median and well above the South Dakota state median. On a $348,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.15% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among South Dakota counties by effective rate
Lincoln County ranks #17 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (74% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Lincoln County's 1.15% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 26%).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Lincoln County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $99,166 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Lincoln 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
Lincoln County's effective rate fell 14.3% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 45.0%, leaving the median bill 24.3% higher at $3,990. That rate move is larger than the one in 60% 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 $3,210 to $3,990, a gain of 24%. 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: 13,374 of 19,861 owner-occupied homes (67.3%) 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 4.0% 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 Lincoln County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Lincoln County homeowners, 13,374 of 19,861 owner-occupied homes (67.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 3.5% (692)
- $800 to $1,499 7.4% (1,474)
- $1,500 to $1,999 5.2% (1,028)
- $2,000 to $2,999 15.0% (2,975)
- $3,000 or more 67.3% (13,374)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
318 homes here (1.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Lincoln County pay about the same bill, a 6% gap.
Lincoln County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Lincoln County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Lincoln County's median bill is 46% above the South Dakota median and 100% above the U.S. median.
Same rate as South Dakota, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 8% of the South Dakota median, yet the median bill runs 46% above it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to costlier housing produces $3,990 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Lincoln County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Lincoln County | South Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.0% | - | - |
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.
Is Lincoln County's $3,990 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Lincoln County's $3,990 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $399/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for South Dakota.
Lincoln County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,990 +4.4% | 1.15% |
| 2023 | $3,822 +4.7% | 1.18% |
| 2022 | $3,651 +7.2% | 1.25% |
| 2021 | $3,406 +6.1% | 1.37% |
| 2020 | $3,210 | 1.34% |
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.
Lincoln County: tax takes 4.0% of income
Counties near Lincoln County's median bill
On effective rate, Lincoln County sits nearest Tioga County (PA), Grand Forks County (ND), Halifax County (NC).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Mississippi County (MO), Scott County (MO), Dallas County (AR).
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
Lincoln County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 2,400 of 35,390 returns from Lincoln County reported real estate taxes, averaging $8,467 - 55% 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 South Dakota
Lincoln County bill FAQs
- How does Lincoln County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Lincoln County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.15% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Lincoln County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Lincoln County is $3,990, an effective rate of 1.15% on a $348,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Lincoln County?
- Lincoln County, South Dakota scores F (25/100) 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 mortgage premium at C (+$239). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Lincoln County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Lincoln County jumped 24.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,210 to $3,990, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Lincoln County?
- Property taxes in Lincoln County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $99,166 median household income.
What to do with Lincoln County's HEAVY bill
Lincoln County's $3,990 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Lincoln County ranks #17 of 66 South Dakota counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. South Dakota overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Lincoln County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.15%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,990/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Lincoln County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Lincoln County (PAR · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR HEAVY
Boulder County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,998/yr (near-tied bill ABS $8); rate 0.53% vs Lincoln County 1.15%.
Island County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,999/yr (near-tied bill ABS $9); rate 0.67% vs Lincoln County 1.15%.
Green County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,003/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 1.60% vs Lincoln County 1.15%.
Jefferson County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,005/yr (near-tied bill ABS $15); rate 1.46% vs Lincoln County 1.15%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Lincoln County stamps PAR · HEAVY - 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 Lincoln County (PAR · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.