Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024
Madison County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Madison County pays $3,624 a year, an effective rate of 1.48%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,624
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.48%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +82%
- vs U.S. average
- #16 of 99
- rank in IA
The verdict
Homeowners in Madison County pay a median $3,624 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.48%, more affordable than 12% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,624
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.48%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2774 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +82%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($245,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 16,926. Owner-occupied homes: 5,366.
The median annual property tax in Madison County is $3,624, which is 25% higher than the Iowa state average and 82% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.48% on a median home value of $245,100. Property taxes represent 4.0% of the median household income in this county.
Madison County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Madison County's 1.48% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 12%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Madison County pay a median annual property tax of $3,624, far above the national median and well above the Iowa state median. On a $245,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.48% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Iowa counties by effective rate
Madison County ranks #16 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (84% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Madison County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $90,855 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 8.3% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 67% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 31.3%, the median bill rose 20.4% to $3,624: 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 $3,009 to $3,624, a gain of 20%. 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: 3,250 of 5,366 owner-occupied homes (60.6%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 4.0% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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, 3,250 of 5,366 owner-occupied homes (60.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.6% (246)
- $800 to $1,499 7.2% (385)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.4% (453)
- $2,000 to $2,999 16.7% (894)
- $3,000 or more 60.6% (3,250)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
138 homes here (2.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Madison County pay about the same bill, within a 2% gap either way.
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 84% of the 99 counties in Iowa - ranking #16 of 99.
Where Madison County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.48% more affordable than 12% 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
Same rate as Iowa, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 6% of the Iowa median, yet the median bill runs 25% 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 $3,624 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Madison County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Madison County | Iowa Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High 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.
Madison County's STEEP · HEAVY lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Madison County's published figures (STEEP · HEAVY), a $245,100 median home carries a $3,624 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $362 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Iowa.
Madison County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,624 -1.5% | 1.48% |
| 2023 | $3,681 +4.3% | 1.55% |
| 2022 | $3,530 +8.6% | 1.53% |
| 2021 | $3,249 +8.0% | 1.68% |
| 2020 | $3,009 | 1.61% |
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-to-income at 4.0%
Counties near Madison County's effective rate
On effective rate, Madison County sits nearest Wilson County (KS), Scotts Bluff County (NE), Deaf Smith County (TX).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Rockingham County (NH), Ellis County (KS), Hancock County (KY).
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 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 540 of 7,810 returns from Madison County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,857 - 31% 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 Iowa
Madison County rate FAQs
- How does Madison County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Madison County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.48% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Madison County, Iowa?
- The median annual property tax in Madison County is $3,624, an effective rate of 1.48% on a $245,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Madison County?
- Madison County, Iowa scores F (30/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-76). 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 Madison County?
- Property taxes in Madison County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $90,855 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Madison County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Madison County jumped 20.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,009 to $3,624, 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 Madison County's STEEP rate
Madison County's $3,624 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Madison County ranks #16 of 99 Iowa counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Iowa overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Madison County's STEEP 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: 1.48%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,624/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 (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Wasatch County, UT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Madison County at $3,624/yr; rate 0.46% vs Madison County 1.48%.
Queen Anne's County, MD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,623/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.78% vs Madison County 1.48%.
Gwinnett County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,617/yr (near-tied bill ABS $7); rate 0.95% vs Madison County 1.48%.
Story County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,632/yr (near-tied bill ABS $8); rate 1.40% vs Madison County 1.48%.
Iowa county set
State ACS overview for every published Iowa county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Madison County stamps STEEP · HEAVY - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.