South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Pennington County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Pennington County pays $3,265 a year, an effective rate of 1.08%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,265
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.08%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +64%
- vs U.S. average
- #27 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Pennington County pay a median $3,265 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.08%, more affordable than 30% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,265
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.08%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2202 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +64%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($302,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 113,512. Owner-occupied homes: 32,125.
The median annual property tax in Pennington County is $3,265, which is 20% higher than the South Dakota state average and 64% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.08% on a median home value of $302,200. Property taxes represent 4.4% 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 1.08% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 30%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Pennington County pay a median annual property tax of $3,265, far above the national median and notably higher than the South Dakota state median. On a $302,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.08% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Pennington County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.4% of the $74,517 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of South Dakota counties by effective rate
Pennington County ranks #27 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (59% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Pennington County rose 53.2%, from $197,200 to $302,200. The effective rate fell 21.3% over the same span, a steeper move than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 20.6%, to $3,265. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 $2,708 to $3,265, a gain of 21%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 17,245 of 32,125 owner-occupied homes (53.7%) 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 4.4% 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 Pennington County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Pennington County homeowners, 17,245 of 32,125 owner-occupied homes (53.7%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.7% (2,483)
- $800 to $1,499 8.2% (2,631)
- $1,500 to $1,999 7.3% (2,337)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.5% (6,573)
- $3,000 or more 53.7% (17,245)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
856 homes here (2.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Pennington County pay about the same bill, a 1% gap.
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 59% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #27 of 66.
Where Pennington County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.08% more affordable than 30% 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
Same rate as South Dakota, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 2% of the South Dakota median, yet the median bill runs 20% above it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to costlier housing produces $3,265 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Pennington County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Pennington County | South Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.4% | - | - |
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 · HEAVY on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Dakota counties.
Pennington County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,265 +7.1% | 1.08% |
| 2023 | $3,049 +4.6% | 1.13% |
| 2022 | $2,916 +7.1% | 1.18% |
| 2021 | $2,722 +0.5% | 1.29% |
| 2020 | $2,708 | 1.37% |
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 takes 4.4% of income
Counties near Pennington County's effective rate
On effective rate, Pennington County sits nearest Ottawa County (OH), Holmes County (OH), McIntosh County (ND).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lake County (OH), Lee County (MS), Lampasas County (TX).
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 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 2,420 of 61,380 returns from Pennington County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,484 - 39% of those reporters sat in the $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 South Dakota
Pennington County rate FAQs
- How does Pennington County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Pennington County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.08% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Pennington County?
- Pennington County, South Dakota scores F (30/100) 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 (+$29). 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 Pennington County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Pennington County is $3,265, an effective rate of 1.08% on a $302,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Pennington County?
- Property taxes in Pennington County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.4% of the $74,517 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Pennington County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Pennington County jumped 20.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,708 to $3,265, 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 Pennington County's PAR rate
Pennington County's $3,265 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Pennington County ranks #27 of 66 South Dakota counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. South Dakota 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: 1.08%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,265/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 · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR HEAVY
Piatt County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Pennington County at $3,265/yr; rate 1.81% vs Pennington County 1.08%.
Nome Census Area, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,264/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.55% vs Pennington County 1.08%.
Sutter County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,268/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.75% vs Pennington County 1.08%.
Linn County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,261/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.87% vs Pennington County 1.08%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Pennington County stamps PAR · 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 Pennington County (PAR · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.