Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Missoula County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Missoula County pays $4,150 a year, an effective rate of 0.88%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,150
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.88%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +108%
- vs U.S. average
- #11 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Missoula County pay a median $4,150 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.88%, more affordable than 44% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,150
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.88%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1749 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +108%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($472,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 120,672. Owner-occupied homes: 30,978.
The median annual property tax in Missoula County is $4,150, which is 54% higher than the Montana state average and 108% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.88% on a median home value of $472,100. Property taxes represent 5.5% of the median household income in this county.
Why Missoula County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Missoula County pay a median annual property tax of $4,150, far above the national median and far above the Montana state median. On a $472,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.88% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Missoula County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.5% of the $75,598 median household income.
Decision signal 3
Low among Montana counties by effective rate
Missoula County ranks #11 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (80% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Missoula County's 0.88% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 44%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Missoula 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Missoula County's effective rate fell 12.5% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 56.2%, leaving the median bill 36.6% higher at $4,150. That rate move is larger than the one in 51% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 37% from $3,037 to $4,150. 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: 21,651 of 30,978 owner-occupied homes (69.9%) 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 the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 5.5% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.
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 Missoula County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Missoula County homeowners, 21,651 of 30,978 owner-occupied homes (69.9%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 6.3% (1,958)
- $800 to $1,499 5.0% (1,560)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.2% (1,310)
- $2,000 to $2,999 11.6% (3,599)
- $3,000 or more 69.9% (21,651)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
900 homes here (2.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Missoula County pay about the same bill, a 6% gap.
Missoula County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Missoula County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Missoula County's median bill is 54% above the Montana median and 108% above the U.S. median.
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Missoula County moved from $3,037 in the 2020 release to $4,150 in 2024, a change of about 37%. 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.
Missoula County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Missoula County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 5.5% | - | - |
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.
Is Missoula County's $4,150 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Missoula County's $4,150 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $415/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Montana.
Missoula County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,150 +8.3% | 0.88% |
| 2023 | $3,833 +7.2% | 0.91% |
| 2022 | $3,576 +8.3% | 0.94% |
| 2021 | $3,302 +8.7% | 1.01% |
| 2020 | $3,037 | 1.00% |
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.
Missoula County: tax takes 5.5% of income
Counties near Missoula County's median bill
On effective rate, Missoula County sits nearest Sharkey County (MS), Pike County (MS), Hinds County (MS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Rutherford County (NC), York County (SC), Morehouse Parish (LA).
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
Missoula County: only 8% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 5,280 of 62,380 returns from Missoula County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,314 - 30% 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 Montana
Missoula County bill FAQs
- How does Missoula County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Missoula County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.88% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Missoula County?
- Property taxes in Missoula County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.5% of the $75,598 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Missoula County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Missoula County is $4,150, an effective rate of 0.88% on a $472,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Missoula County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Missoula County jumped 36.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,037 to $4,150, 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 is the tax affordability score for Missoula County?
- Missoula County, Montana scores F (23/100) 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 mortgage premium at C (+$242). 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 to do with Missoula County's HEAVY bill
Missoula County's $4,150 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 5.5% of Missoula County's $75,598 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Missoula County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.88%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,150/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Missoula County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Missoula County (UNDER · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER HEAVY
Cortland County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,149/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 2.56% vs Missoula County 0.88%.
Rutland County, VT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,154/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.81% vs Missoula County 0.88%.
Niagara County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,155/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 2.19% vs Missoula County 0.88%.
Washington County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,142/yr (near-tied bill ABS $8); rate 1.39% vs Missoula County 0.88%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Missoula County stamps UNDER · HEAVY - 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 Missoula County (UNDER · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.