Minnesota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Pennington County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Pennington County pays $2,458 a year, an effective rate of 1.26%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,458
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.26%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +23%
- vs U.S. average
- #1 of 87
- rank in MN
The verdict
Homeowners in Pennington County pay a median $2,458 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.26%, more affordable than 21% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,458
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.26%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2487 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +23%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($195,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Minnesota. Population: 13,791. Owner-occupied homes: 4,479.
The median annual property tax in Pennington County is $2,458, which is 27% lower than the Minnesota state average and 23% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.26% on a median home value of $195,500. Property taxes represent 3.2% of the median household income in this county.
Pennington County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Pennington County's 1.26% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 21%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Minnesota counties by effective rate
Pennington County ranks #1 of 87 counties in Minnesota by effective rate (99% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the Minnesota median
Homeowners in Pennington County pay a median annual property tax of $2,458, notably higher than the national median and well below the Minnesota state median. On a $195,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.26% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 6.9%, from $2,300 to $2,458. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Pennington County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $77,325 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Pennington 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 36% from $1,813 to $2,458. 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: 1,538 of 4,479 owner-occupied homes (34.3%) 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 3.2% 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.
Pennington County is an outlier inside Minnesota
Across the 87 Minnesota counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 0.96%. Pennington County is at 1.26%, which sits 2.1 standard deviations above that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What Pennington County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Pennington County homeowners, 1,538 of 4,479 owner-occupied homes (34.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.7% (434)
- $800 to $1,499 15.9% (711)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.0% (492)
- $2,000 to $2,999 26.6% (1,191)
- $3,000 or more 34.3% (1,538)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
113 homes here (2.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Minnesota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Pennington County pay about the same bill, within a 3% gap either way.
Pennington County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Pennington County's effective rate is higher than 99% of the 87 counties in Minnesota - ranking #1 of 87.
Where Pennington County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.26% more affordable than 21% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Pennington County taxes property at 1.26%, about 24% above the Minnesota average, yet its median bill of $2,458 lands roughly 27% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Pennington County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Pennington County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.2% | - | - |
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.
Pennington County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Minnesota counties.
Pennington County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,458 +6.9% | 1.26% |
| 2023 | $2,300 +6.2% | 1.22% |
| 2022 | $2,166 +13.8% | 1.25% |
| 2021 | $1,903 +5.0% | 1.17% |
| 2020 | $1,813 | 1.11% |
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.
Pennington County: tax-to-income at 3.2%
Counties near Pennington County's effective rate
On effective rate, Pennington County sits nearest Jackson County (MI), Chippewa County (MI), Jefferson County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Webster County (MO), Jim Wells County (TX), Boulder County (CO).
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
Pennington County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 200 of 6,980 returns from Pennington County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,970 - 40% 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 Minnesota
Pennington County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Pennington County, Minnesota?
- The median annual property tax in Pennington County is $2,458, an effective rate of 1.26% on a $195,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Pennington County?
- Pennington County, Minnesota scores D (41/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-85). 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.
- How does Pennington County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Pennington County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.26% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Pennington County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Pennington County is recorded at $2,458 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,813 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 4,479 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 Pennington County?
- Property taxes in Pennington County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.2% of the $77,325 median household income.
What to do with Pennington County's PAR rate
Inside Minnesota, Pennington County's $2,458 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Minnesota overview →
Pennington County ranks #1 of 87 Minnesota counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Minnesota overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Pennington County's PAR 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: 1.26%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,458/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Pennington County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Pennington County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Rains County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Pennington County at $2,458/yr; rate 1.02% vs Pennington County 1.26%.
Dorchester County, MD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,456/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.94% vs Pennington County 1.26%.
Tooele County, UT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,460/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.57% vs Pennington County 1.26%.
Clinton County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,461/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.53% vs Pennington County 1.26%.
Minnesota county set
State ACS overview for every published Minnesota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Pennington County stamps PAR · 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 Pennington County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.