Georgia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Putnam County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Putnam County pays $1,698 a year, an effective rate of 0.68%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,698
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.68%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -15%
- vs U.S. average
- #136 of 158
- rank in GA
The verdict
Homeowners in Putnam County pay a median $1,698 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.68%, more affordable than 62% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,698
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.68%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1192 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -15%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($249,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Putnam County, GA
49/100
5 ACS dimensions · release 2024
Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Putnam County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Median tax as a share of Putnam County's median household income
Putnam County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median home value relative to Putnam County's median income
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Putnam County
Read the chart values
- Rate relief: 63/100 (C+) · 0.68%
- Income room: 54/100 (C-) · 2.4%
- Bill size: 48/100 (D) · $1,698/yr
- Housing pressure: 32/100 (F) · 3.46×
- Mortgage premium: 23/100 (F) · +$617
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Georgia. Population: 22,855. Owner-occupied homes: 8,444.
The median annual property tax in Putnam County is $1,698, which is 27% lower than the Georgia state average and 15% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.68% on a median home value of $249,300. Property taxes represent 2.4% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Putnam County
Primary signal
High among Georgia counties by effective rate
Putnam County ranks #136 of 158 counties in Georgia by effective rate (14% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Georgia median
Homeowners in Putnam County pay a median annual property tax of $1,698, notably lower than the national median and well below the Georgia state median. On a $249,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.68% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Putnam County's 0.68% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 62%).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Putnam County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $72,096 median household income.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Putnam County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making decisions that depend on these numbers.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 12.1% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 51% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 50.4%, the median bill rose 32.2% to $1,698: 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 32% from $1,284 to $1,698. 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: 2,294 of 8,444 owner-occupied homes (27.2%) 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.
Above-median earnings meet a slightly-below-median rate, and the median bill amounts to 2.4% of median household income. That is the comfortable middle of this dataset, and comfortable middles are easy to overlook when only rankings get published.
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 Putnam County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Putnam County homeowners, 2,294 of 8,444 owner-occupied homes (27.2%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 24.2% (2,047)
- $800 to $1,499 17.9% (1,511)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.9% (1,093)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.3% (1,036)
- $3,000 or more 27.2% (2,294)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
463 homes here (5.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Georgia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Putnam County pay a substantially higher bill, 47% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
How Putnam County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Putnam County's effective rate is higher than 14% of the 158 counties in Georgia - ranking #136 of 158 for property tax burden.
Where Putnam County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.68% Among the most affordable more affordable than 62% 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 Putnam County moved from $1,284 in the 2020 release to $1,698 in 2024, a change of about 32%. 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.
Putnam County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Putnam County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.4% | - | - |
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.
Putnam County stamps QUIET · MID - still check the parcel card
On Putnam County's published figures (QUIET · MID), a $249,300 median home carries a $1,698 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $170 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in Georgia.
Property Tax History · QUIET · MID
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,698 +5.9% | 0.68% |
| 2023 | $1,604 +10.7% | 0.72% |
| 2022 | $1,449 +8.8% | 0.71% |
| 2021 | $1,332 +3.7% | 0.77% |
| 2020 | $1,284 | 0.77% |
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.
Tax Burden
Tax Affordability Score
An effective rate well below the national average of 0.92% puts Putnam County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.
How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Putnam County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Putnam County sits nearest Brevard County (FL), Ventura County (CA), San Luis Obispo County (CA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Haskell County (KS), Maverick County (TX), Jefferson 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
What tax filers report in Putnam County
Of the 10,480 federal returns filed from Putnam County in 2022, 980 (9.4% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $5,028 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 34% of the county's reporting returns.
Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Georgia
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Putnam County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Putnam County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Putnam County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Putnam County, Georgia? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Putnam County? ▼
What to do with Putnam County's numbers
- Inside Georgia, Putnam County's $1,698 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Georgia overview →
- Putnam County ranks #136 of 158 Georgia counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Georgia overview →
- If Putnam County's assessment looks high versus the $249,300 typical home, check Georgia's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition
Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($249,300); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
Nationwide peers by effective rate & median bill
Two PlainPropertyTax-derived comparison paths for Putnam County, both outside Georgia so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice. Axes stay disjoint: median-bill peers exclude the effective-rate peer set.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.68%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,698/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Putnam County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Putnam County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Madison County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Putnam County at $1,698/yr; rate 0.73% vs Putnam County 0.68%.
Anderson County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,697/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.75% vs Putnam County 0.68%.
Clark County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,699/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.94% vs Putnam County 0.68%.
Elk County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,697/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.27% vs Putnam County 0.68%.
Georgia county set
State ACS overview for every published Georgia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Putnam County stamps QUIET · 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.
Share and download this county card
Editorial standards and provenance
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Putnam County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.