Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024
Polk County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Polk County pays $4,396 a year, an effective rate of 1.68%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,396
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.68%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- +121%
- vs U.S. average
- #2 of 99
- rank in IA
The verdict
Homeowners in Polk County pay a median $4,396 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.68%, more affordable than 6% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,396
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.68%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2936 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +121%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($262,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 503,175. Owner-occupied homes: 138,309.
The median annual property tax in Polk County is $4,396, which is 52% higher than the Iowa state average and 121% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.68% on a median home value of $262,100. Property taxes represent 5.3% of the median household income in this county.
Why Polk County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Polk County pay a median annual property tax of $4,396, far above the national median and far above the Iowa state median. On a $262,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.68% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Iowa counties by effective rate
Polk County ranks #2 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (98% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The effective rate is a national headwind
Polk County's 1.68% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 94% pay more.
Decision signal 4
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Polk County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.3% of the $83,576 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 13.6% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 37.7%, leaving the median bill 18.9% higher at $4,396. That rate move is larger than the one in 57% 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $3,696 to $4,396, a gain of 19%. 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: 100,412 of 138,309 owner-occupied homes (72.6%) 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 5.3% 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.
Polk County is an outlier inside Iowa
Across the 99 Iowa counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 1.31%. Polk County is at 1.68%, 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 Polk County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Polk County homeowners, 100,412 of 138,309 owner-occupied homes (72.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 3.6% (5,024)
- $800 to $1,499 4.1% (5,731)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.2% (5,831)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.7% (17,600)
- $3,000 or more 72.6% (100,412)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
3,711 homes here (2.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Polk County pay about the same bill, a 9% gap.
Polk County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Polk County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Polk County's median bill is 52% above the Iowa median and 121% above the U.S. median.
Among the highest-taxed counties in the country
At 1.68%, Polk County sits in the top 6% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. That is the rate, not the bill: a high rate on a modest home can still produce a smaller cheque than a low rate on an expensive one, which is why the $4,396 median bill is the number to compare against another county.
Polk County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Polk County | Iowa Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 5.3% | - | - |
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 Polk County's $4,396 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Polk County's $4,396 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $440/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Iowa.
Polk County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,396 +0.7% | 1.68% |
| 2023 | $4,364 +3.7% | 1.76% |
| 2022 | $4,208 +8.1% | 1.81% |
| 2021 | $3,891 +5.3% | 1.93% |
| 2020 | $3,696 | 1.94% |
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 takes 5.3% of income
Counties near Polk County's median bill
On effective rate, Polk County sits nearest Montgomery County (IL), Barton County (KS), Franklin County (NY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Athens County (OH), Guilford County (NC), Clay County (MO).
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 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 17,660 of 241,940 returns from Polk County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,943 - 33% 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 Iowa
Polk County bill FAQs
- How does Polk County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Polk County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.68% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Polk County?
- Property taxes in Polk County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.3% of the $83,576 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Polk County, Iowa?
- The median annual property tax in Polk County is $4,396, an effective rate of 1.68% on a $262,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Polk County?
- Polk County, Iowa scores F (13/100) 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 D (+$373). 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 climbed 18.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,696 to $4,396, 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 Polk County's HEAVY bill
Polk County's $4,396 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 5.3% of Polk County's $83,576 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Polk 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: 1.68%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,396/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 (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,375/yr (near-tied bill ABS $21); rate 1.42% vs Polk County 1.68%.
St. Croix County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,420/yr (near-tied bill ABS $24); rate 1.17% vs Polk County 1.68%.
Oakland County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,371/yr (near-tied bill ABS $25); rate 1.27% vs Polk County 1.68%.
Champaign County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,353/yr (near-tied bill ABS $43); rate 2.06% vs Polk County 1.68%.
Iowa county set
State ACS overview for every published Iowa county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Polk County stamps STEEP · HEAVY - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.