South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Mellette County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Mellette County pays $825 a year, an effective rate of 0.98%, far below the U.S. average.
- $825
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.98%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -59%
- vs U.S. average
- #41 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Mellette County pay a median $825 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.98%, more affordable than 37% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $825
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.98%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1972 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -59%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($84,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 1,943. Owner-occupied homes: 387.
The median annual property tax in Mellette County is $825, which is 70% lower than the South Dakota state average and 59% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.98% on a median home value of $84,100. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Mellette County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Mellette County's 0.98% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 37%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Mellette County pay a median annual property tax of $825, far below the national median and far below the South Dakota state median. On a $84,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.98% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Mellette County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $54,076 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill down
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has declined 14.3%, from $963 to $825. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Near the middle of South Dakota counties by effective rate
Mellette County ranks #41 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (38% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Mellette 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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $817 to $825, a change of 1%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The largest single group of owner-occupied homes in this county reports no real estate tax at all: 139 of 387 homes (35.9%). When that group leads, the county median does not describe the most common reported amount.
This county earns in the bottom quarter of the country and taxes above the median rate, so the median bill absorbs 1.5% of median household income. The rate alone understates that; it is the pairing that matters.
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 Mellette County Homeowners Actually Pay
Most Mellette County homeowners are not billed at all: 139 of 387 owner-occupied homes (35.9%) report no real estate tax. A median bill describes only the minority who pay one.
- Less than $800 30.2% (117)
- $800 to $1,499 15.5% (60)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.1% (43)
- $2,000 to $2,999 2.8% (11)
- $3,000 or more 4.4% (17)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
139 homes here (35.9%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Mellette County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
Mellette County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Mellette County's effective rate is higher than 38% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #41 of 66.
Where Mellette County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.98% more affordable than 37% 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 South Dakota, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 8% of the South Dakota median, yet the median bill runs 70% below 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 cheaper housing produces $825 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Mellette County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Mellette County | South Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.5% | - | - |
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.
Mellette County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Dakota counties.
Mellette County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $825 -14.3% | 0.98% |
| 2023 | $963 -2.1% | 1.53% |
| 2022 | $984 +9.3% | 1.62% |
| 2021 | $900 +10.2% | 1.74% |
| 2020 | $817 | N/A |
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.
Mellette County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Mellette County's effective rate
On effective rate, Mellette County sits nearest Somerset County (PA), Vinton County (OH), Miami County (OH).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Billings County (ND), Hamilton County (IL), Morgan County (WV).
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 Mellette County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for Mellette 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
Mellette County rate FAQs
- How does Mellette County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Mellette County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.98% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Mellette County?
- Mellette County, South Dakota scores B (70/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 4 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+ (1.56×). 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 is the average property tax in Mellette County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Mellette County is $825, an effective rate of 0.98% on a $84,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Mellette County?
- Property taxes in Mellette County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $54,076 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Mellette County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Mellette County held roughly steady, up 1.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $817 to $825, 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 Mellette County's UNDER rate
Mellette County's $825 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 1.5% of Mellette County's $54,076 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Mellette County's UNDER 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: 0.98%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $825/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Mellette County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Mellette County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
DeKalb County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $824/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.35% vs Mellette County 0.98%.
Hancock County, WV
ABS(median_tax) peer · $826/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.63% vs Mellette County 0.98%.
Lewis County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $824/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs Mellette County 0.98%.
Panola County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $826/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.65% vs Mellette County 0.98%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Mellette County stamps UNDER · 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 Mellette County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.