Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Nelson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Nelson County pays $1,891 a year, an effective rate of 0.79%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,891
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.79%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -5%
- vs U.S. average
- #28 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Nelson County pay a median $1,891 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.79%, more affordable than 51% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,891
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.79%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1538 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -5%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($238,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 47,606. Owner-occupied homes: 15,001.
The median annual property tax in Nelson County is $1,891, which is 22% higher than the Kentucky state average and 5% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.79% on a median home value of $238,000. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.
Nelson County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Nelson County's 0.79% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 51%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Kentucky counties by effective rate
Nelson County ranks #28 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (77% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits above the Kentucky median
Homeowners in Nelson County pay a median annual property tax of $1,891, modestly below the national median and notably higher than the Kentucky state median. On a $238,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.79% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Nelson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $69,562 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Nelson 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 11.0% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 56% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 44.9%, the median bill rose 29.0% to $1,891: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 29% from $1,466 to $1,891. 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 plurality of owner-occupied homes here falls in the $2,000 to $2,999 band, at 3,513 of 15,001 (23.4%). This shows the reported distribution around the county median, while individual assessments can vary.
Above-median earnings meet a slightly-below-median rate, and the median bill amounts to 2.7% of median household income. That is the comfortable middle of this dataset, and comfortable middles are easy to overlook when only rankings get published.
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 Nelson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Nelson County homeowners, 3,513 of 15,001 owner-occupied homes (23.4%), pays $2,000 to $2,999 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.9% (1,486)
- $800 to $1,499 22.9% (3,439)
- $1,500 to $1,999 18.9% (2,828)
- $2,000 to $2,999 23.4% (3,513)
- $3,000 or more 20.1% (3,009)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
726 homes here (4.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Nelson County, mortgaged homeowners pay 20% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Nelson County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Nelson County's effective rate is higher than 77% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #28 of 120.
Where Nelson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.79% more affordable than 51% 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 Nelson County moved from $1,466 in the 2020 release to $1,891 in 2024, a change of about 29%. 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.
Nelson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Nelson County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.7% | - | - |
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.
Nelson County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Nelson County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,891 +6.1% | 0.79% |
| 2023 | $1,782 +5.1% | 0.80% |
| 2022 | $1,695 +11.7% | 0.83% |
| 2021 | $1,518 +3.5% | 0.90% |
| 2020 | $1,466 | 0.89% |
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.
Nelson County: tax-to-income at 2.7%
Counties near Nelson County's effective rate
On effective rate, Nelson County sits nearest Randolph County (IN), Allen County (IN), Atkinson County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Madison County (IN), Ada County (ID), Okeechobee County (FL).
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
Nelson County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 860 of 23,170 returns from Nelson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,631 - 35% 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 Kentucky
Nelson County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Nelson County?
- Nelson County, Kentucky scores D (45/100) 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 rate relief at C- (0.79%). 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 Nelson County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Nelson County is $1,891, an effective rate of 0.79% on a $238,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Nelson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Nelson County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.79% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Nelson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Nelson County jumped 29.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,466 to $1,891, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Nelson County?
- Property taxes in Nelson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $69,562 median household income.
What to do with Nelson County's UNDER rate
Inside Kentucky, Nelson County's $1,891 median bill runs high versus the state median - compare the rest of the state before judging the burden. Kentucky overview →
Nelson County ranks #28 of 120 Kentucky counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Kentucky overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Nelson 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: 0.79%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,891/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Nelson County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Nelson County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Christian County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Nelson County at $1,891/yr; rate 1.64% vs Nelson County 0.79%.
Santa Rosa County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Nelson County at $1,891/yr; rate 0.57% vs Nelson County 0.79%.
Brunswick County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,890/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.54% vs Nelson County 0.79%.
Roanoke city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,893/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.99% vs Nelson County 0.79%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Nelson County stamps UNDER · MID - 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 Nelson County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.