Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Prairie County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Prairie County pays $1,391 a year, an effective rate of 0.84%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,391
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.84%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -30%
- vs U.S. average
- #16 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Prairie County pay a median $1,391 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.84%, more affordable than 47% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,391
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.84%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1663 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -30%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($165,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 1,250. Owner-occupied homes: 457.
The median annual property tax in Prairie County is $1,391, which is 48% lower than the Montana state average and 30% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.84% on a median home value of $165,700. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.
Prairie County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Prairie County's 0.84% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 47%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Prairie County pay a median annual property tax of $1,391, well below the national median and well below the Montana state median. On a $165,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.84% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Montana counties by effective rate
Prairie County ranks #16 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (71% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Prairie County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $51,250 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Prairie 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 Prairie County rose 64.1%, from $101,000 to $165,700. The effective rate fell 31.8% over the same span, a steeper move than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 11.8%, to $1,391. 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,244 to $1,391, a gain of 12%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 177 of 457 owner-occupied homes (38.7%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
This county earns in the bottom quarter of the country and taxes above the median rate, so the median bill absorbs 2.7% of median household income. The rate alone understates that; it is the pairing that matters.
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 Prairie County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Prairie County homeowners, 177 of 457 owner-occupied homes (38.7%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 15.5% (71)
- $800 to $1,499 38.7% (177)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.4% (43)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.0% (96)
- $3,000 or more 10.9% (50)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
20 homes here (4.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Prairie County pay about the same bill, within a 5% gap either way.
Prairie County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Prairie County's effective rate is higher than 71% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #16 of 56.
Where Prairie County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.84% more affordable than 47% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Prairie County taxes property at 0.84%, about 17% above the Montana average, yet its median bill of $1,391 lands roughly 48% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Prairie County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Prairie County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.7% | - | - |
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.
Prairie County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Prairie County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,391 -2.6% | 0.84% |
| 2023 | $1,428 +0.5% | 0.85% |
| 2022 | $1,421 +12.3% | 1.01% |
| 2021 | $1,265 +1.7% | 1.09% |
| 2020 | $1,244 | 1.23% |
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.
Prairie County: tax-to-income at 2.7%
Counties near Prairie County's effective rate
On effective rate, Prairie County sits nearest Antrim County (MI), Washington County (MD), St. Mary's County (MD).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Columbia County (NY), Glasscock County (TX), Kay 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
IRS county file: no disclosed Prairie County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for Prairie County. That is a limit of the published data rather than a finding about the county: county-level figures are withheld where the counts are too small to disclose safely, which is common in places with few filers. Roughly one county in sixteen is in this position, so the filer view available elsewhere on this site is simply not available here. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data.
Other Counties in Montana
Prairie County rate FAQs
- How does Prairie County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Prairie County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.84% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Prairie County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Prairie County is $1,391, an effective rate of 0.84% on a $165,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Prairie County?
- Prairie County, Montana scores C (55/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-65). 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 Prairie County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Prairie County climbed 11.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,244 to $1,391, 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 Prairie County?
- Property taxes in Prairie County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $51,250 median household income.
What to do with Prairie County's UNDER rate
Prairie County's $1,391 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 →
Prairie County ranks #16 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Prairie 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: 0.84%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,391/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Prairie County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Prairie County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Glacier County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Prairie County at $1,391/yr; rate 0.84% vs Prairie County 0.84%.
McDuffie County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Prairie County at $1,391/yr; rate 0.82% vs Prairie County 0.84%.
Whitfield County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Prairie County at $1,391/yr; rate 0.64% vs Prairie County 0.84%.
Clay County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,392/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.43% vs Prairie County 0.84%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Prairie County stamps UNDER · 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 Prairie County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.