Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024
Mills County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Mills County pays $3,494 a year, an effective rate of 1.47%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,494
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.47%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +75%
- vs U.S. average
- #19 of 99
- rank in IA
The verdict
Homeowners in Mills County pay a median $3,494 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.47%, more affordable than 12% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,494
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.47%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2767 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +75%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($237,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 14,568. Owner-occupied homes: 4,506.
The median annual property tax in Mills County is $3,494, which is 21% higher than the Iowa state average and 75% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.47% on a median home value of $237,800. Property taxes represent 3.9% of the median household income in this county.
Mills County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Mills County's 1.47% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 12%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Mills County pay a median annual property tax of $3,494, far above the national median and notably higher than the Iowa state median. On a $237,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.47% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Iowa counties by effective rate
Mills County ranks #19 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (81% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Mills County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.9% of the $90,753 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 4.8%, from $3,334 to $3,494. 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 Mills 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 32% from $2,643 to $3,494. 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: 2,722 of 4,506 owner-occupied homes (60.4%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 3.9% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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 Mills County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Mills County homeowners, 2,722 of 4,506 owner-occupied homes (60.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.2% (190)
- $800 to $1,499 9.8% (440)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.3% (376)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.8% (667)
- $3,000 or more 60.4% (2,722)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
111 homes here (2.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Mills County pay about the same bill, a 8% gap.
Mills County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Mills County's effective rate is higher than 81% of the 99 counties in Iowa - ranking #19 of 99.
Where Mills County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.47% more affordable than 12% 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 Mills County moved from $2,643 in the 2020 release to $3,494 in 2024, a change of about 32%. 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.
Mills County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Mills County | Iowa Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.9% | - | - |
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.
Mills County's STEEP · HEAVY lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Mills County's published figures (STEEP · HEAVY), a $237,800 median home carries a $3,494 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $349 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Iowa.
Mills County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,494 +4.8% | 1.47% |
| 2023 | $3,334 +5.1% | 1.46% |
| 2022 | $3,173 +12.8% | 1.41% |
| 2021 | $2,814 +6.5% | 1.48% |
| 2020 | $2,643 | 1.48% |
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.
Mills County: tax-to-income at 3.9%
Counties near Mills County's effective rate
On effective rate, Mills County sits nearest Dickinson County (KS), Ellsworth County (KS), Neosho County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Roberts County (TX), San Benito County (CA), Lawrence County (IL).
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
Mills County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 430 of 6,740 returns from Mills County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,433 - 37% 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 Iowa
Mills County rate FAQs
- How does Mills County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Mills County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.47% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Mills County, Iowa?
- The median annual property tax in Mills County is $3,494, an effective rate of 1.47% on a $237,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Mills County?
- Mills County, Iowa scores F (25/100) 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 C+ (2.62×). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Mills County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Mills County is recorded at $3,494 in the 2024 5-year release against $2,643 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 4,506 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Mills County?
- Property taxes in Mills County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.9% of the $90,753 median household income.
What to do with Mills County's STEEP rate
Mills County's $3,494 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Mills County ranks #19 of 99 Iowa counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Iowa overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Mills 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: 1.47%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,494/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Mills County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Mills County (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Portage County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,492/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.44% vs Mills County 1.47%.
Walla Walla County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,492/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.85% vs Mills County 1.47%.
Kalamazoo County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,498/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.45% vs Mills County 1.47%.
Marion County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,490/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.84% vs Mills County 1.47%.
Iowa county set
State ACS overview for every published Iowa county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Mills County stamps STEEP · HEAVY - 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 Mills County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.