Illinois · County property tax · ACS 2024
Pope County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Pope County pays $1,477 a year, an effective rate of 1.03%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,477
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.03%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -26%
- vs U.S. average
- #100 of 102
- rank in IL
The verdict
Homeowners in Pope County pay a median $1,477 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.03%, more affordable than 33% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,477
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.03%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2102 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -26%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($143,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Illinois. Population: 3,739. Owner-occupied homes: 1,195.
The median annual property tax in Pope County is $1,477, which is 72% lower than the Illinois state average and 26% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.03% on a median home value of $143,800. Property taxes represent 2.5% of the median household income in this county.
Pope County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Pope County's 1.03% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 33%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Pope County pay a median annual property tax of $1,477, well below the national median and far below the Illinois state median. On a $143,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.03% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Illinois counties by effective rate
Pope County ranks #100 of 102 counties in Illinois by effective rate (2% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Pope County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $60,050 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Pope 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
Pope County's effective rate fell 14.1% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 25.5%, leaving the median bill 7.8% higher at $1,477. That rate move is larger than the one in 59% 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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $1,370 to $1,477, a change of 8%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 295 of 1,195 owner-occupied homes (24.7%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 2.5% of median household income. The gap between those two positions is the whole story on this page.
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.
Pope County is an outlier inside Illinois
Across the 102 Illinois counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 1.80%. Pope County is at 1.03%, which sits 2.3 standard deviations below 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 Pope County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Pope County homeowners, 295 of 1,195 owner-occupied homes (24.7%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 24.7% (295)
- $800 to $1,499 24.4% (291)
- $1,500 to $1,999 19.0% (227)
- $2,000 to $2,999 13.5% (161)
- $3,000 or more 15.2% (182)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
39 homes here (3.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Illinois handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Pope County, mortgaged homeowners pay 24% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Pope County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Pope County's effective rate is higher than 2% of the 102 counties in Illinois - ranking #100 of 102.
Where Pope County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.03% more affordable than 33% 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
Below Illinois on both measures
Pope County's effective rate runs 49% under the Illinois median and its bill 72% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $1,477 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Illinois norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Pope County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Pope County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.5% | - | - |
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.
Pope County is PAR · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Illinois counties.
Pope County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,477 -12.4% | 1.03% |
| 2023 | $1,687 -4.1% | 1.02% |
| 2022 | $1,759 +14.9% | 1.28% |
| 2021 | $1,531 +11.8% | 1.34% |
| 2020 | $1,370 | 1.20% |
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.
Pope County: tax-to-income at 2.5%
Counties near Pope County's effective rate
On effective rate, Pope County sits nearest Glascock County (GA), Bibb County (GA), Monona County (IA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Monroe County (WI), Ketchikan Gateway Borough (AK), Iberville Parish (LA).
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
Pope County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 40 of 1,600 returns from Pope County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,525 - 100% of those reporters sat in the $75-100k 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 Illinois
Pope County rate FAQs
- How does Pope County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Pope County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.03% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Pope County, Illinois?
- The median annual property tax in Pope County is $1,477, an effective rate of 1.03% on a $143,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Pope County?
- Pope County, Illinois scores D (49/100) 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 housing pressure at B+ (2.39×). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Pope County?
- Property taxes in Pope County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $60,050 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Pope County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Pope County ticked up 7.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,370 to $1,477, 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 Pope County's PAR rate
Pope County's $1,477 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 →
Pope County ranks #100 of 102 Illinois counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Illinois overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Pope County's PAR 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: 1.03%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,477/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Pope County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Pope County (PAR · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR LIGHT
Bingham County, ID
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Pope County at $1,477/yr; rate 0.50% vs Pope County 1.03%.
Somerset County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Pope County at $1,477/yr; rate 0.98% vs Pope County 1.03%.
Gallatin County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,476/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.83% vs Pope County 1.03%.
Perkins County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,478/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.29% vs Pope County 1.03%.
Illinois county set
State ACS overview for every published Illinois county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Pope County stamps PAR · 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 Pope County (PAR · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.