South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
McPherson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in McPherson County pays $1,323 a year, an effective rate of 1.55%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,323
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.55%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- -34%
- vs U.S. average
- #2 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in McPherson County pay a median $1,323 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.55%, more affordable than 9% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,323
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.55%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2840 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -34%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($85,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 2,145. Owner-occupied homes: 744.
The median annual property tax in McPherson County is $1,323, which is 51% lower than the South Dakota state average and 34% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.55% on a median home value of $85,600. Property taxes represent 2.0% of the median household income in this county.
McPherson County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national headwind
McPherson County's 1.55% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 91% pay more.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in McPherson County pay a median annual property tax of $1,323, well below the national median and far below the South Dakota state median. On a $85,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.55% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among South Dakota counties by effective rate
McPherson County ranks #2 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (97% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in McPherson County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $66,906 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 8.6%, from $1,218 to $1,323. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in McPherson 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 47% from $901 to $1,323. 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: 254 of 744 owner-occupied homes (34.1%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
The rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 2.0% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to 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.
McPherson County is an outlier inside South Dakota
Across the 66 South Dakota counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 1.03%. McPherson County is at 1.55%, which sits 2.1 standard deviations above that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What McPherson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of McPherson County homeowners, 254 of 744 owner-occupied homes (34.1%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 34.1% (254)
- $800 to $1,499 19.1% (142)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.9% (111)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.8% (162)
- $3,000 or more 6.0% (45)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
30 homes here (4.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in McPherson County pay a substantially higher bill, 47% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
McPherson County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
McPherson County's effective rate is higher than 97% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #2 of 66.
Where McPherson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.55% more affordable than 9% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
McPherson County taxes property at 1.55%, about 46% above the South Dakota average, yet its median bill of $1,323 lands roughly 51% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
McPherson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | McPherson County | South Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile 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.
McPherson County's STEEP · LIGHT lane - is an appeal worth running?
On McPherson County's published figures (STEEP · LIGHT), a $85,600 median home carries a $1,323 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $132 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for South Dakota.
McPherson County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,323 +8.6% | 1.55% |
| 2023 | $1,218 +10.3% | 1.55% |
| 2022 | $1,104 +28.4% | 1.42% |
| 2021 | $860 -4.6% | 1.26% |
| 2020 | $901 | 1.44% |
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.
McPherson County: tax takes only 2.0% of income
Counties near McPherson County's effective rate
On effective rate, McPherson County sits nearest Lehigh County (PA), Lyon County (KS), Nome Census Area (AK).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Fremont County (CO), Carroll County (GA), Franklin County (MS).
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
IRS county file: no disclosed McPherson County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for McPherson County. That is a limit of the published data rather than a finding about the county: county-level figures are withheld where the counts are too small to disclose safely, which is common in places with few filers. Roughly one county in sixteen is in this position, so the filer view available elsewhere on this site is simply not available here. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data.
Other Counties in South Dakota
McPherson County rate FAQs
- How does McPherson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in McPherson County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.55% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in McPherson County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in McPherson County is $1,323, an effective rate of 1.55% on a $85,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in McPherson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for McPherson County is recorded at $1,323 in the 2024 5-year release against $901 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 744 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What is the tax affordability score for McPherson County?
- McPherson County, South Dakota scores D (46/100) 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 housing pressure at A+ (1.28×). 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 McPherson County?
- Property taxes in McPherson County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $66,906 median household income.
What to do with McPherson County's STEEP rate
McPherson County's $1,323 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 2.0% of McPherson County's $66,906 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for McPherson 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: 1.55%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,323/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with McPherson County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for McPherson County (STEEP · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP LIGHT
Newton County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with McPherson County at $1,323/yr; rate 0.77% vs McPherson County 1.55%.
Randolph County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,324/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.67% vs McPherson County 1.55%.
Steele County, ND
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,322/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.01% vs McPherson County 1.55%.
Davidson County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,320/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.60% vs McPherson County 1.55%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
McPherson County stamps STEEP · LIGHT - 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 McPherson County (STEEP · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.