Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Mason County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Mason County pays $1,055 a year, an effective rate of 0.65%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,055
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.65%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -47%
- vs U.S. average
- #82 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Mason County pay a median $1,055 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.65%, more affordable than 66% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,055
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.65%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1074 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -47%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($161,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 16,956. Owner-occupied homes: 4,711.
The median annual property tax in Mason County is $1,055, which is 32% lower than the Kentucky state average and 47% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.65% on a median home value of $161,500. Property taxes represent 2.0% of the median household income in this county.
Mason County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Mason County's 0.65% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 66%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Mason County pay a median annual property tax of $1,055, well below the national median and well below the Kentucky state median. On a $161,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.65% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Kentucky counties by effective rate
Mason County ranks #82 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (32% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Mason County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $52,178 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Mason 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
Mason County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 5.3% up, against a median home value that rose 12.0%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 17.9%, from $895 to $1,055.
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 $895 to $1,055, a gain of 18%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 1,507 of 4,711 owner-occupied homes (32.0%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Incomes here are in the lowest quarter nationally while the rate sits just below the middle, and the median bill lands at 2.0% of median household income. The rate reads as unremarkable in a national ranking; the earnings behind it are not, and the ratio above is where the two meet.
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 Mason County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Mason County homeowners, 1,507 of 4,711 owner-occupied homes (32.0%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 32.0% (1,507)
- $800 to $1,499 29.8% (1,406)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.0% (563)
- $2,000 to $2,999 13.0% (613)
- $3,000 or more 4.5% (213)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
409 homes here (8.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Mason County pay a substantially higher bill, 43% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Mason County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Mason County's effective rate is higher than 32% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #82 of 120.
Where Mason County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.65% Among the most affordable more affordable than 66% 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
Mason County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Mason County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.0% | - | - |
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.
Mason County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Mason County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,055 +5.7% | 0.65% |
| 2023 | $998 +0.0% | 0.63% |
| 2022 | $998 +2.4% | 0.64% |
| 2021 | $975 +8.9% | 0.68% |
| 2020 | $895 | 0.62% |
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.
Mason County: tax-to-income at 2.0%
Counties near Mason County's effective rate
On effective rate, Mason County sits nearest Tipton County (IN), Scott County (IN), Rush County (IN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Hardin County (IA), Elko County (NV), Clay County (SD).
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
Mason County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 200 of 7,380 returns from Mason County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,010 - 35% 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 Kentucky
Mason County rate FAQs
- How does Mason County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Mason County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.65% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Mason County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Mason County is $1,055, an effective rate of 0.65% on a $161,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Mason County?
- Mason County, Kentucky scores C+ (62/100) 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 bill size at B ($1,055/yr). 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 Mason County?
- Property taxes in Mason County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $52,178 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Mason County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Mason County climbed 17.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $895 to $1,055, 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 Mason County's QUIET rate
Mason County's $1,055 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 →
Mason County ranks #82 of 120 Kentucky counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Kentucky overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Mason 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: 0.65%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,055/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Mason County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Mason County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Dade County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Mason County at $1,055/yr; rate 0.62% vs Mason County 0.65%.
Ouachita Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,054/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.54% vs Mason County 0.65%.
Jones County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,053/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.74% vs Mason County 0.65%.
Pulaski County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,057/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.63% vs Mason County 0.65%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Mason 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 Mason County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.