Georgia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Polk County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Polk County pays $1,413 a year, an effective rate of 0.75%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,413
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.75%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -29%
- vs U.S. average
- #118 of 158
- rank in GA
The verdict
Homeowners in Polk County pay a median $1,413 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.75%, more affordable than 55% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,413
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.75%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1425 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -29%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($187,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Georgia. Population: 43,785. Owner-occupied homes: 10,500.
The median annual property tax in Polk County is $1,413, which is 40% lower than the Georgia state average and 29% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.75% on a median home value of $187,600. Property taxes represent 2.4% of the median household income in this county.
Polk County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Polk County's 0.75% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 55%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Polk County pay a median annual property tax of $1,413, well below the national median and well below the Georgia state median. On a $187,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.75% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Georgia counties by effective rate
Polk County ranks #118 of 158 counties in Georgia by effective rate (25% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Polk County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $58,515 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Polk 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Polk County's effective rate fell 15.8% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 53.9%, leaving the median bill 29.5% higher at $1,413. That rate move is larger than the one in 68% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 30% from $1,091 to $1,413. 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 2,727 of 10,500 owner-occupied homes (26.0%). 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 2.4% 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 Polk County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Polk County homeowners, 2,727 of 10,500 owner-occupied homes (26.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 23.8% (2,503)
- $800 to $1,499 26.0% (2,727)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.0% (1,683)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.6% (1,528)
- $3,000 or more 13.0% (1,364)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
695 homes here (6.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Georgia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Polk County pay a substantially higher bill, 46% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Polk County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Polk County's effective rate is higher than 25% of the 158 counties in Georgia - ranking #118 of 158.
Where Polk County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.75% more affordable than 55% 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 Polk County moved from $1,091 in the 2020 release to $1,413 in 2024, a change of about 30%. 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.
Polk County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Polk County | Georgia 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 | 2.4% | - | - |
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.
Polk County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Georgia counties.
Polk County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,413 +8.1% | 0.75% |
| 2023 | $1,307 +0.6% | 0.80% |
| 2022 | $1,299 +6.1% | 0.86% |
| 2021 | $1,224 +12.2% | 0.92% |
| 2020 | $1,091 | 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.
Polk County: tax-to-income at 2.4%
Counties near Polk County's effective rate
On effective rate, Polk County sits nearest Sarasota County (FL), Duval County (FL), Sutter County (CA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Fresno County (CA), Sanpete County (UT), Bartholomew 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
Polk County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 650 of 18,150 returns from Polk County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,837 - 42% 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 Georgia
Polk County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Polk County, Georgia?
- The median annual property tax in Polk County is $1,413, an effective rate of 0.75% on a $187,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Polk County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Polk County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.75% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Polk County?
- Polk County, Georgia 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 bill size at C ($1,413/yr). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Polk County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Polk County jumped 29.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,091 to $1,413, 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 Polk County?
- Property taxes in Polk County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $58,515 median household income.
What to do with Polk County's UNDER rate
Polk County's $1,413 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 →
Polk County ranks #118 of 158 Georgia counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Georgia overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Polk 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: 0.75%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,413/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Polk County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Polk County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Hand County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Polk County at $1,413/yr; rate 0.89% vs Polk County 0.75%.
Cameron County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,414/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.59% vs Polk County 0.75%.
Shelby County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,412/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.66% vs Polk County 0.75%.
Santa Cruz County, AZ
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,415/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.61% vs Polk County 0.75%.
Georgia county set
State ACS overview for every published Georgia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Polk County stamps UNDER · 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.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Polk County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.