Indiana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Porter County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Porter County pays $2,326 a year, an effective rate of 0.83%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,326
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.83%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +17%
- vs U.S. average
- #6 of 92
- rank in IN
The verdict
Homeowners in Porter County pay a median $2,326 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.83%, more affordable than 48% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,326
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.83%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1639 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +17%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($281,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Indiana. Population: 174,818. Owner-occupied homes: 53,352.
The median annual property tax in Porter County is $2,326, which is 44% higher than the Indiana state average and 17% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.83% on a median home value of $281,500. Property taxes represent 2.6% of the median household income in this county.
Porter County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Porter County's 0.83% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 48%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Indiana counties by effective rate
Porter County ranks #6 of 92 counties in Indiana by effective rate (93% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits above the Indiana median
Homeowners in Porter County pay a median annual property tax of $2,326, notably higher than the national median and well above the Indiana state median. On a $281,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.83% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Porter County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $87,972 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Porter 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 54% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 45.5%, the median bill rose 29.2% to $2,326: 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 29% from $1,801 to $2,326. 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: 16,863 of 53,352 owner-occupied homes (31.6%) 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.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 2.6% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 Porter County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Porter County homeowners, 16,863 of 53,352 owner-occupied homes (31.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.9% (5,258)
- $800 to $1,499 16.2% (8,662)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.6% (7,765)
- $2,000 to $2,999 25.9% (13,827)
- $3,000 or more 31.6% (16,863)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
977 homes here (1.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Indiana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Porter County pay about the same bill, a 5% gap.
Porter County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Porter County's effective rate is higher than 93% of the 92 counties in Indiana - ranking #6 of 92.
Where Porter County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.83% more affordable than 48% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Porter County moved from $1,801 in the 2020 release to $2,326 in 2024, a change of about 29%. 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.
Porter County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Porter County | Indiana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.6% | - | - |
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.
Porter County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Indiana counties.
Porter County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,326 +7.1% | 0.83% |
| 2023 | $2,172 +6.0% | 0.83% |
| 2022 | $2,049 +6.4% | 0.85% |
| 2021 | $1,926 +6.9% | 0.92% |
| 2020 | $1,801 | 0.93% |
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.
Porter County: tax-to-income at 2.6%
Counties near Porter County's effective rate
On effective rate, Porter County sits nearest Pierce County (GA), Houston County (GA), Chattahoochee County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Duval County (FL), Craighead County (AR), Gunnison County (CO).
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
Porter County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 4,980 of 86,170 returns from Porter County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,957 - 38% 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 Indiana
Porter County rate FAQs
- How does Porter County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Porter County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.83% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Porter County, Indiana?
- The median annual property tax in Porter County is $2,326, an effective rate of 0.83% on a $281,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Porter County?
- Porter County, Indiana scores D (47/100) 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+ (+$108). 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 Porter County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Porter County jumped 29.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,801 to $2,326, 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 Porter County?
- Property taxes in Porter County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $87,972 median household income.
What to do with Porter County's UNDER rate
Inside Indiana, Porter County's $2,326 median bill runs high versus the state median - compare the rest of the state before judging the burden. Indiana overview →
Porter County ranks #6 of 92 Indiana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Indiana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Porter County's UNDER 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: 0.83%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,326/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Porter County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Porter County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Hampton city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,327/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.95% vs Porter County 0.83%.
Harrison County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,325/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.32% vs Porter County 0.83%.
Mercer County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,325/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.10% vs Porter County 0.83%.
Boone County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,328/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.85% vs Porter County 0.83%.
Indiana county set
State ACS overview for every published Indiana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Porter County stamps UNDER · 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 Porter County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.