Alabama · County property tax · ACS 2024
Madison County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Madison County pays $1,185 a year, an effective rate of 0.40%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,185
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.40%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -41%
- vs U.S. average
- #14 of 67
- rank in AL
The verdict
Homeowners in Madison County pay a median $1,185 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.40%, more affordable than 93% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,185
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.40%
- Effective rate on median home
- #217 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -41%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($299,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Alabama. Population: 405,718. Owner-occupied homes: 112,734.
The median annual property tax in Madison County is $1,185, which is 50% higher than the Alabama state average and 41% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.40% on a median home value of $299,200. Property taxes represent 1.4% of the median household income in this county.
Madison County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Madison County's 0.40% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 93% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Madison County pay a median annual property tax of $1,185, well below the national median and far above the Alabama state median. On a $299,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.40% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Alabama counties by effective rate
Madison County ranks #14 of 67 counties in Alabama by effective rate (79% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Madison County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.4% of the $86,499 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Madison 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
Madison County's effective rate fell 13.7% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 57.3%, leaving the median bill 35.7% higher at $1,185. That rate move is larger than the one in 58% 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 36% from $873 to $1,185. 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: 33,801 of 112,734 owner-occupied homes (30.0%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 1.4% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
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 Madison County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Madison County homeowners, 33,801 of 112,734 owner-occupied homes (30.0%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 30.0% (33,801)
- $800 to $1,499 27.0% (30,402)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.4% (13,998)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.9% (14,490)
- $3,000 or more 8.2% (9,257)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
10,786 homes here (9.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Alabama handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Madison County, mortgaged homeowners pay 10% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Madison County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Madison County's effective rate is higher than 79% of the 67 counties in Alabama - ranking #14 of 67.
Where Madison County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.40% Among the most affordable more affordable than 93% 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
Among the lowest-taxed counties in the country
At 0.40%, Madison County sits in the lowest 7% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. A low rate does not by itself mean a low bill: the median here is $1,185, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Madison County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Madison County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.4% | - | - |
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.
Madison County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Alabama counties.
Madison County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,185 +9.6% | 0.40% |
| 2023 | $1,081 +9.2% | 0.40% |
| 2022 | $990 +9.4% | 0.41% |
| 2021 | $905 +3.7% | 0.45% |
| 2020 | $873 | 0.46% |
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.
Madison County: tax takes only 1.4% of income
Counties near Madison County's effective rate
On effective rate, Madison County sits nearest Randolph County (AR), Conejos County (CO), Moffat County (CO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Eastland County (TX), Fisher County (TX), Bonner County (ID).
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
Madison County: only 8% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 15,650 of 188,570 returns from Madison County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,840 - 40% 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 Alabama
Madison County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Madison County?
- Madison County, Alabama scores B+ (79/100) 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 A+ (0.40%). 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.
- How does Madison County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Madison County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.40% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Madison County, Alabama?
- The median annual property tax in Madison County is $1,185, an effective rate of 0.40% on a $299,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Madison County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Madison County jumped 35.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $873 to $1,185, 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 Madison County?
- Property taxes in Madison County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.4% of the $86,499 median household income.
What to do with Madison County's QUIET rate
Madison County's $1,185 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 1.4% of Madison County's $86,499 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Madison 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: 0.40%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,185/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Madison County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Madison County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Brantley County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Madison County at $1,185/yr; rate 1.19% vs Madison County 0.40%.
Kit Carson County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Madison County at $1,185/yr; rate 0.49% vs Madison County 0.40%.
Madison County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Madison County at $1,185/yr; rate 0.56% vs Madison County 0.40%.
Worth County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Madison County at $1,185/yr; rate 1.13% vs Madison County 0.40%.
Alabama county set
State ACS overview for every published Alabama county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Madison 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 Madison County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.