Missouri · County property tax · ACS 2024
Phelps County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Phelps County pays $1,312 a year, an effective rate of 0.64%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,312
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.64%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -34%
- vs U.S. average
- #76 of 115
- rank in MO
The verdict
Homeowners in Phelps County pay a median $1,312 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.64%, more affordable than 67% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,312
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.64%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1040 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -34%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($206,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Phelps County, MO
61/100
5 ACS dimensions · release 2024
Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Phelps County
Phelps County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Phelps County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median tax as a share of Phelps County's median household income
Median home value relative to Phelps County's median income
Read the chart values
- Mortgage premium: 70/100 (B-) · +$163
- Rate relief: 67/100 (B-) · 0.64%
- Bill size: 63/100 (C+) · $1,312/yr
- Income room: 58/100 (C) · 2.2%
- Housing pressure: 29/100 (F) · 3.54×
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Missouri. Population: 45,194. Owner-occupied homes: 10,689.
The median annual property tax in Phelps County is $1,312, which is 33% lower than the Missouri state average and 34% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.64% on a median home value of $206,500. Property taxes represent 2.2% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Phelps County
Primary signal
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Phelps County pay a median annual property tax of $1,312, well below the national median and well below the Missouri state median. On a $206,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.64% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Phelps County's 0.64% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 67%).
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Missouri counties by effective rate
Phelps County ranks #76 of 115 counties in Missouri by effective rate (34% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Phelps County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.2% of the $58,396 median household income.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Phelps County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making decisions that depend on these numbers.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 6.5% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 73% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 41.2%, the median bill rose 32.1% to $1,312: 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 32% from $993 to $1,312. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 3,747 of 10,689 owner-occupied homes (35.1%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 2.2% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Phelps County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Phelps County homeowners, 3,747 of 10,689 owner-occupied homes (35.1%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 22.1% (2,364)
- $800 to $1,499 35.1% (3,747)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.7% (1,572)
- $2,000 to $2,999 15.3% (1,638)
- $3,000 or more 10.0% (1,072)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
296 homes here (2.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Missouri handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Phelps County, mortgaged homeowners pay 13% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
How Phelps County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Phelps County's effective rate is higher than 34% of the 115 counties in Missouri - ranking #76 of 115 for property tax burden.
Where Phelps County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.64% Among the most affordable more affordable than 67% 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 Phelps County moved from $993 in the 2020 release to $1,312 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.
Phelps County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Phelps County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.2% | - | - |
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.
Phelps County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - still check the parcel card
On Phelps County's published figures (QUIET · LIGHT), a $206,500 median home carries a $1,312 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $131 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in Missouri.
Property Tax History · QUIET · LIGHT
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,312 +5.1% | 0.64% |
| 2023 | $1,248 +4.8% | 0.64% |
| 2022 | $1,191 +9.6% | 0.68% |
| 2021 | $1,087 +9.5% | 0.70% |
| 2020 | $993 | 0.68% |
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.
Tax Burden
Tax Affordability Score
An effective rate well below the national average of 0.92% puts Phelps County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.
How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Phelps County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Phelps County sits nearest Bossier Parish (LA), Whitley County (KY), McLean County (KY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lake County (CA), Oconee County (GA), Harrison County (IN).
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
What tax filers report in Phelps County
Of the 18,720 federal returns filed from Phelps County in 2022, 540 (2.9% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $2,563 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 35% of the county's reporting returns.
Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Missouri
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Phelps County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Phelps County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Phelps County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Phelps County, Missouri? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Phelps County? ▼
What to do with Phelps County's numbers
- Phelps County's $1,312 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
- Phelps County ranks #76 of 115 Missouri counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Missouri overview →
- If Phelps County's assessment looks high versus the $206,500 typical home, check Missouri's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition
Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($206,500); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
Nationwide peers by effective rate & median bill
Two PlainPropertyTax-derived comparison paths for Phelps County, both outside Missouri so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice. Axes stay disjoint: median-bill peers exclude the effective-rate peer set.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.64%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,312/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Phelps County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Phelps County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Jefferson Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Phelps County at $1,312/yr; rate 0.52% vs Phelps County 0.64%.
Edmunds County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,313/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.80% vs Phelps County 0.64%.
Jones County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,313/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.94% vs Phelps County 0.64%.
Putnam County, WV
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,311/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.59% vs Phelps County 0.64%.
Missouri county set
State ACS overview for every published Missouri county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Phelps County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - 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.
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Editorial standards and provenance
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Phelps County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.