Colorado · County property tax · ACS 2024
Pitkin County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Pitkin County pays $4,074 a year, an effective rate of 0.36%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,074
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.36%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- +104%
- vs U.S. average
- #37 of 64
- rank in CO
The verdict
Homeowners in Pitkin County pay a median $4,074 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.36%, more affordable than 95% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,074
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.36%
- Effective rate on median home
- #152 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +104%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($1,139,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Colorado. Population: 16,985. Owner-occupied homes: 5,790.
The median annual property tax in Pitkin County is $4,074, which is 57% higher than the Colorado state average and 104% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.36% on a median home value of $1,139,100. Property taxes represent 4.0% of the median household income in this county.
Why Pitkin County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Pitkin County pay a median annual property tax of $4,074, far above the national median and far above the Colorado state median. On a $1,139,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.36% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Pitkin County's 0.36% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 95% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Pitkin County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $102,645 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill down
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has declined 8.4%, from $4,450 to $4,074. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Near the middle of Colorado counties by effective rate
Pitkin County ranks #37 of 64 counties in Colorado by effective rate (42% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Pitkin 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 76% from $2,316 to $4,074. 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: 3,664 of 5,790 owner-occupied homes (63.3%) 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.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 4.0% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
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 Pitkin County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Pitkin County homeowners, 3,664 of 5,790 owner-occupied homes (63.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 10.2% (589)
- $800 to $1,499 9.3% (539)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.3% (367)
- $2,000 to $2,999 8.8% (509)
- $3,000 or more 63.3% (3,664)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
122 homes here (2.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Colorado handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Pitkin County, mortgaged homeowners actually pay 25% less than those without a mortgage, a mild inversion from the national norm worth cross-checking against the historical table above.
Pitkin County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Pitkin County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Pitkin County's median bill is 57% above the Colorado median and 104% above the U.S. median.
A low rate, a bigger bill
Pitkin County taxes property at 0.36%, roughly 25% below the Colorado average, and still bills a median $4,074, about 57% above the state figure. Because the effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, that combination means local home values run well ahead of the state norm: a gentler rate applied to a larger base.
Pitkin County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Pitkin County | Colorado Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.0% | - | - |
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 Pitkin County's $4,074 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Pitkin County's $4,074 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $407/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Colorado.
Pitkin County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,074 -8.4% | 0.36% |
| 2023 | $4,450 +10.4% | 0.39% |
| 2022 | $4,030 +18.5% | 0.44% |
| 2021 | $3,400 +46.8% | 0.47% |
| 2020 | $2,316 | 0.39% |
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.
Pitkin County: tax-to-income at 4.0%
Counties near Pitkin County's median bill
On effective rate, Pitkin County sits nearest Talladega County (AL), Marshall County (AL), Coffee County (AL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Jasper County (SC), Concordia Parish (LA), Pecos 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
Pitkin County: only 15% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,530 of 10,520 returns from Pitkin County reported real estate taxes, averaging $18,658 - 59% 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 Colorado
Pitkin County bill FAQs
- How does Pitkin County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Pitkin County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.36% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Pitkin County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Pitkin County is recorded at $4,074 in the 2024 5-year release against $2,316 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 5,790 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 is the average property tax in Pitkin County, Colorado?
- The median annual property tax in Pitkin County is $4,074, an effective rate of 0.36% on a $1,139,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Pitkin County?
- Property taxes in Pitkin County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $102,645 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Pitkin County?
- Pitkin County, Colorado scores C- (50/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-1,217). 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 Pitkin County's HEAVY bill
Pitkin County's $4,074 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Pitkin County ranks #37 of 64 Colorado counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Colorado overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Pitkin 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: 0.36%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,074/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Pitkin County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Pitkin County (QUIET · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET HEAVY
Greene County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,071/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.61% vs Pitkin County 0.36%.
Whatcom County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,087/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 0.70% vs Pitkin County 0.36%.
Greene County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,056/yr (near-tied bill ABS $18); rate 1.49% vs Pitkin County 0.36%.
Racine County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,099/yr (near-tied bill ABS $25); rate 1.63% vs Pitkin County 0.36%.
Colorado county set
State ACS overview for every published Colorado county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Pitkin County stamps QUIET · 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 Pitkin County (QUIET · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.