Ohio · County property tax · ACS 2024
Portage County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Portage County pays $2,877 a year, an effective rate of 1.27%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,877
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.27%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +44%
- vs U.S. average
- #17 of 88
- rank in OH
The verdict
Homeowners in Portage County pay a median $2,877 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.27%, more affordable than 20% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,877
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.27%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2505 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +44%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($227,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Ohio. Population: 161,956. Owner-occupied homes: 45,768.
The median annual property tax in Portage County is $2,877, which is 2% higher than the Ohio state average and 44% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.27% on a median home value of $227,000. Property taxes represent 3.8% of the median household income in this county.
Portage County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Portage County's 1.27% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 20%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Portage County pay a median annual property tax of $2,877, well above the national median and roughly in line with the Ohio state median. On a $227,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.27% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Ohio counties by effective rate
Portage County ranks #17 of 88 counties in Ohio by effective rate (81% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Portage County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.8% of the $75,766 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Portage 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
Portage County's effective rate fell 13.4% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 41.6%, leaving the median bill 22.6% higher at $2,877. That rate move is larger than the one in 56% 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 $2,346 to $2,877, a gain of 23%. 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: 20,606 of 45,768 owner-occupied homes (45.0%) 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 rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 3.8% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to here.
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 Portage County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Portage County homeowners, 20,606 of 45,768 owner-occupied homes (45.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.5% (3,411)
- $800 to $1,499 10.5% (4,822)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.2% (5,121)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.0% (9,630)
- $3,000 or more 45.0% (20,606)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,178 homes here (4.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Ohio handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Portage County, mortgaged homeowners pay 16% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Portage County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Portage County's effective rate is higher than 81% of the 88 counties in Ohio - ranking #17 of 88.
Where Portage County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.27% more affordable than 20% 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
Close to the Ohio median on both measures
Rate and bill both land within 10% of the Ohio medians here, which makes Portage County a reasonable stand-in for the state when comparing against counties elsewhere. It also means the county-level figure adds little beyond the state figure for this particular comparison; the $2,877 median bill and the state median tell substantially the same story.
Portage County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Portage County | Ohio Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.8% | - | - |
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.
Portage County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Ohio counties.
Portage County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,877 +5.5% | 1.27% |
| 2023 | $2,728 +2.5% | 1.30% |
| 2022 | $2,662 +7.9% | 1.35% |
| 2021 | $2,466 +5.1% | 1.46% |
| 2020 | $2,346 | 1.46% |
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.
Portage County: tax-to-income at 3.8%
Counties near Portage County's effective rate
On effective rate, Portage County sits nearest Dodge County (NE), Oakland County (MI), Lenawee County (MI).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Newberry County (SC), Shackelford County (TX), Neosho County (KS).
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
Portage County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 3,040 of 77,830 returns from Portage County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,364 - 35% 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 Ohio
Portage County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Portage County?
- Portage County, Ohio 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 housing pressure at D (3.00×). 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.
- How does Portage County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Portage County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.27% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Portage County, Ohio?
- The median annual property tax in Portage County is $2,877, an effective rate of 1.27% on a $227,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Portage County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Portage County jumped 22.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,346 to $2,877, 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 Portage County?
- Property taxes in Portage County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.8% of the $75,766 median household income.
What to do with Portage County's PAR rate
Portage County's $2,877 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Portage County ranks #17 of 88 Ohio counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Ohio overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Portage 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: 1.27%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,877/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Portage County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Portage County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Mercer County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,878/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.96% vs Portage County 1.27%.
Custer County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,879/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.77% vs Portage County 1.27%.
Midland County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,875/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.47% vs Portage County 1.27%.
Wharton County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,881/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.52% vs Portage County 1.27%.
Ohio county set
State ACS overview for every published Ohio county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Portage County stamps PAR · MID - 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 Portage County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.