Wisconsin · County property tax · ACS 2024
Portage County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Portage County pays $3,492 a year, an effective rate of 1.44%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,492
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.44%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +75%
- vs U.S. average
- #24 of 72
- rank in WI
The verdict
Homeowners in Portage County pay a median $3,492 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.44%, more affordable than 13% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,492
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.44%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2718 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +75%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($243,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Wisconsin. Population: 70,832. Owner-occupied homes: 20,695.
The median annual property tax in Portage County is $3,492, which is 8% lower than the Wisconsin state average and 75% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.44% on a median home value of $243,100. Property taxes represent 4.6% 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 1.44% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 13%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Portage County pay a median annual property tax of $3,492, far above the national median and modestly below the Wisconsin state median. On a $243,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.44% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Portage County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.6% of the $76,070 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Wisconsin counties by effective rate
Portage County ranks #24 of 72 counties in Wisconsin by effective rate (67% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 11.2% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 55% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 36.1%, the median bill rose 20.9% to $3,492: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 $2,889 to $3,492, a gain of 21%. 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: 12,631 of 20,695 owner-occupied homes (61.0%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 4.6% 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.
What Portage County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Portage County homeowners, 12,631 of 20,695 owner-occupied homes (61.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 2.7% (567)
- $800 to $1,499 5.5% (1,140)
- $1,500 to $1,999 7.1% (1,466)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.7% (4,499)
- $3,000 or more 61.0% (12,631)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
392 homes here (1.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Wisconsin handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Portage County pay about the same bill, a 6% gap.
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 67% of the 72 counties in Wisconsin - ranking #24 of 72.
Where Portage County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.44% more affordable than 13% 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 Wisconsin median on both measures
Rate and bill both land within 10% of the Wisconsin 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 $3,492 median bill and the state median tell substantially the same story.
Portage County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Portage County | Wisconsin Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.6% | - | - |
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's STEEP · HEAVY lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Portage County's published figures (STEEP · HEAVY), a $243,100 median home carries a $3,492 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $349 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Wisconsin.
Portage County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,492 +2.8% | 1.44% |
| 2023 | $3,396 +3.9% | 1.47% |
| 2022 | $3,268 +10.1% | 1.52% |
| 2021 | $2,969 +2.8% | 1.61% |
| 2020 | $2,889 | 1.62% |
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 takes 4.6% of income
Counties near Portage County's effective rate
On effective rate, Portage County sits nearest Uvalde County (TX), Dickens County (TX), Bell County (TX).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Union County (KY), Lincoln County (WA), Floyd County (TX).
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: 1,370 of 35,220 returns from Portage County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,247 - 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 Wisconsin
Portage County rate FAQs
- How does Portage County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Portage County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.44% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Portage County, Wisconsin?
- The median annual property tax in Portage County is $3,492, an effective rate of 1.44% on a $243,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Portage County?
- Portage County, Wisconsin scores F (22/100) 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 B- (+$190). 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 Portage County?
- Property taxes in Portage County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.6% of the $76,070 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Portage County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Portage County jumped 20.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,889 to $3,492, 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 Portage County's STEEP rate
Portage County's $3,492 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 #24 of 72 Wisconsin counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Wisconsin overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Portage County's STEEP 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: 1.44%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,492/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 (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Walla Walla County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Portage County at $3,492/yr; rate 0.85% vs Portage County 1.44%.
Marion County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,490/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.84% vs Portage County 1.44%.
Mills County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,494/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.47% vs Portage County 1.44%.
Door County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,486/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 1.02% vs Portage County 1.44%.
Wisconsin county set
State ACS overview for every published Wisconsin county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Portage 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 Portage County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.