Missouri · County property tax · ACS 2024
Mercer County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Mercer County pays $1,006 a year, an effective rate of 0.96%, far below the U.S. average.
- $1,006
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.96%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -50%
- vs U.S. average
- #10 of 115
- rank in MO
The verdict
Homeowners in Mercer County pay a median $1,006 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.96%, more affordable than 39% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,006
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.96%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1923 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -50%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($104,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Missouri. Population: 3,482. Owner-occupied homes: 1,055.
The median annual property tax in Mercer County is $1,006, which is 48% lower than the Missouri state average and 50% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.96% on a median home value of $104,900. Property taxes represent 1.6% of the median household income in this county.
Mercer County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Mercer County's 0.96% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 39%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Mercer County pay a median annual property tax of $1,006, far below the national median and well below the Missouri state median. On a $104,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.96% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Missouri counties by effective rate
Mercer County ranks #10 of 115 counties in Missouri by effective rate (91% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Mercer County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $62,679 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Mercer 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
Mercer County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 5.8% down, against a median home value that rose 23.0%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 15.9%, from $868 to $1,006.
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 $868 to $1,006, a gain of 16%. 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: 441 of 1,055 owner-occupied homes (41.8%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 1.6% of median household income. The gap between those two positions is the whole story on this page.
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 Mercer County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Mercer County homeowners, 441 of 1,055 owner-occupied homes (41.8%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 41.8% (441)
- $800 to $1,499 29.6% (312)
- $1,500 to $1,999 7.8% (82)
- $2,000 to $2,999 8.0% (84)
- $3,000 or more 10.7% (113)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
23 homes here (2.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Missouri handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Mercer County pay a substantially higher bill, 44% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Mercer County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Mercer County's effective rate is higher than 91% of the 115 counties in Missouri - ranking #10 of 115.
Where Mercer County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.96% more affordable than 39% 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
Mercer County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Mercer County | Missouri 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 | 1.6% | - | - |
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.
Mercer County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Missouri counties.
Mercer County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,006 +11.2% | 0.96% |
| 2023 | $905 -2.9% | 0.95% |
| 2022 | $932 +5.9% | 0.89% |
| 2021 | $880 +1.4% | 1.06% |
| 2020 | $868 | 1.02% |
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.
Mercer County: tax takes only 1.6% of income
Counties near Mercer County's effective rate
On effective rate, Mercer County sits nearest Noxubee County (MS), Lincoln County (MN), Iosco County (MI).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Cook County (IL), McCormick County (SC), Jessamine 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
IRS county file: no disclosed Mercer County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for Mercer 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 Missouri
Mercer County rate FAQs
- How does Mercer County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Mercer County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.96% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Mercer County, Missouri?
- The median annual property tax in Mercer County is $1,006, an effective rate of 0.96% on a $104,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Mercer County?
- Mercer County, Missouri scores C+ (64/100) 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+ (1.67×). 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 Mercer County?
- Property taxes in Mercer County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $62,679 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Mercer County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Mercer County climbed 15.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $868 to $1,006, 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 Mercer County's UNDER rate
Mercer County's $1,006 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 1.6% of Mercer County's $62,679 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Mercer 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: 0.96%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,006/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Mercer County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Mercer County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Divide County, ND
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Mercer County at $1,006/yr; rate 0.60% vs Mercer County 0.96%.
Cibola County, NM
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,003/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.80% vs Mercer County 0.96%.
Corson County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,009/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.45% vs Mercer County 0.96%.
Jefferson County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,009/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.96% vs Mercer County 0.96%.
Missouri county set
State ACS overview for every published Missouri county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Mercer 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 Mercer County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.