Nebraska · County property tax · ACS 2024
Madison County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Madison County pays $2,854 a year, an effective rate of 1.37%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,854
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.37%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +43%
- vs U.S. average
- #30 of 93
- rank in NE
The verdict
Homeowners in Madison County pay a median $2,854 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.37%, more affordable than 16% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,854
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.37%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2647 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +43%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($208,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Nebraska. Population: 35,532. Owner-occupied homes: 9,465.
The median annual property tax in Madison County is $2,854, which is 20% lower than the Nebraska state average and 43% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.37% on a median home value of $208,500. Property taxes represent 4.5% 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 1.37% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 16%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Madison County pay a median annual property tax of $2,854, well above the national median and notably lower than the Nebraska state median. On a $208,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.37% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Madison County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.5% of the $63,128 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Nebraska counties by effective rate
Madison County ranks #30 of 93 counties in Nebraska by effective rate (68% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
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.
The rate held while the market moved
Madison County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 3.6% down, against a median home value that rose 34.3%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 29.6%, from $2,203 to $2,854.
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 $2,203 to $2,854. 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: 4,295 of 9,465 owner-occupied homes (45.4%) 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.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 4.5% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned here.
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, 4,295 of 9,465 owner-occupied homes (45.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.1% (676)
- $800 to $1,499 13.7% (1,296)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.3% (972)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.2% (1,910)
- $3,000 or more 45.4% (4,295)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
316 homes here (3.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Nebraska handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Madison County, mortgaged homeowners actually pay 15% less than those without a mortgage, a mild inversion from the national norm worth cross-checking against the historical table above.
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 68% of the 93 counties in Nebraska - ranking #30 of 93.
Where Madison County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.37% more affordable than 16% 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 Madison County moved from $2,203 in the 2020 release to $2,854 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.
Madison County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Madison County | Nebraska Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.5% | - | - |
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 · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Madison County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $208,500 median home carries a $2,854 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $285 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Nebraska.
Madison County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,854 +9.0% | 1.37% |
| 2023 | $2,619 +2.7% | 1.34% |
| 2022 | $2,549 +6.2% | 1.36% |
| 2021 | $2,400 +8.9% | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $2,203 | 1.42% |
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 4.5% of income
Counties near Madison County's effective rate
On effective rate, Madison County sits nearest Washington County (KS), McPherson County (KS), Chase County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Camden County (GA), Charlevoix County (MI), Sanpete County (UT).
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 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 630 of 17,020 returns from Madison County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,495 - 35% of those reporters sat in the $200k+ AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Nebraska
Madison County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Madison County?
- Madison County, Nebraska scores F (30/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-469). 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 above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.37% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Madison County, Nebraska?
- The median annual property tax in Madison County is $2,854, an effective rate of 1.37% on a $208,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Madison County?
- Property taxes in Madison County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.5% of the $63,128 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Madison County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Madison County jumped 29.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,203 to $2,854, 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 $2,854 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 #30 of 93 Nebraska counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Nebraska 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: 1.37%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,854/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 · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Dakota County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Madison County at $2,854/yr; rate 1.54% vs Madison County 1.37%.
Humboldt County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,858/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.64% vs Madison County 1.37%.
Lee County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,858/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.79% vs Madison County 1.37%.
Seward County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,850/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.18% vs Madison County 1.37%.
Nebraska county set
State ACS overview for every published Nebraska county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Madison County stamps STEEP · MID - 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 · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.