Oregon · County property tax · ACS 2024
Polk County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Polk County pays $3,634 a year, an effective rate of 0.80%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,634
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.80%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +82%
- vs U.S. average
- #14 of 36
- rank in OR
The verdict
Homeowners in Polk County pay a median $3,634 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.80%, more affordable than 50% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,634
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.80%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1567 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +82%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($454,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Oregon. Population: 89,662. Owner-occupied homes: 21,343.
The median annual property tax in Polk County is $3,634, which is 6% lower than the Oregon state average and 82% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.80% on a median home value of $454,700. Property taxes represent 4.3% 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 $3,634, far above the national median and modestly below the Oregon state median. On a $454,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.80% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Polk County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.3% of the $85,118 median household income.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Oregon counties by effective rate
Polk County ranks #14 of 36 counties in Oregon by effective rate (61% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Polk County's 0.80% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 50%).
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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Polk County rose 56.7%, from $290,100 to $454,700. The effective rate fell 19.0% over the same span, a steeper move than in 79% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 26.9%, to $3,634. 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 27% from $2,863 to $3,634. 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: 13,316 of 21,343 owner-occupied homes (62.4%) 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.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 4.3% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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, 13,316 of 21,343 owner-occupied homes (62.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 3.6% (763)
- $800 to $1,499 5.1% (1,088)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.2% (1,328)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.1% (4,085)
- $3,000 or more 62.4% (13,316)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
763 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Oregon handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Polk County, mortgaged homeowners pay 14% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
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 6% below the Oregon median and 82% above the U.S. median.
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Polk County moved from $2,863 in the 2020 release to $3,634 in 2024, a change of about 27%. 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 | Oregon Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.3% | - | - |
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 $3,634 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Polk County's $3,634 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $363/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Oregon.
Polk County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,634 +2.8% | 0.80% |
| 2023 | $3,534 +6.4% | 0.84% |
| 2022 | $3,321 +9.5% | 0.87% |
| 2021 | $3,034 +6.0% | 0.95% |
| 2020 | $2,863 | 0.99% |
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 4.3% of income
Counties near Polk County's median bill
On effective rate, Polk County sits nearest Noble County (OK), Cibola County (NM), Dundy County (NE).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Chase County (NE), Grant County (KY), Okmulgee County (OK).
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 10% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 4,170 of 40,170 returns from Polk County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,634 - 39% 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 Oregon
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 0.80% 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 4.3% of the $85,118 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Polk County, Oregon?
- The median annual property tax in Polk County is $3,634, an effective rate of 0.80% on a $454,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Polk County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Polk County jumped 26.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,863 to $3,634, 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 is the tax affordability score for Polk County?
- Polk County, Oregon scores F (25/100) 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 rate relief at C- (0.80%). 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 Polk County's HEAVY bill
Polk County's $3,634 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Polk County ranks #14 of 36 Oregon counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Oregon overview →
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: 0.80%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,634/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 · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER HEAVY
Story County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,632/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.40% vs Polk County 0.80%.
Burnet County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,639/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 1.06% vs Polk County 0.80%.
Ingham County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,640/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 1.83% vs Polk County 0.80%.
Miami County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,643/yr (near-tied bill ABS $9); rate 1.27% vs Polk County 0.80%.
Oregon county set
State ACS overview for every published Oregon county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Polk County stamps UNDER · 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 Polk County (UNDER · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.