Missouri · County property tax · ACS 2024
Putnam County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Putnam County pays $1,211 a year, an effective rate of 1.01%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,211
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.01%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -39%
- vs U.S. average
- #8 of 115
- rank in MO
The verdict
Homeowners in Putnam County pay a median $1,211 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.01%, more affordable than 34% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,211
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.01%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2058 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -39%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($119,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Missouri. Population: 4,642. Owner-occupied homes: 1,487.
The median annual property tax in Putnam County is $1,211, which is 38% lower than the Missouri state average and 39% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.01% on a median home value of $119,500. Property taxes represent 1.9% of the median household income in this county.
Putnam County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Putnam County's 1.01% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 34%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Missouri counties by effective rate
Putnam County ranks #8 of 115 counties in Missouri by effective rate (93% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Putnam County pay a median annual property tax of $1,211, well below the national median and well below the Missouri state median. On a $119,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.01% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Putnam County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $63,510 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Putnam 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 Putnam County rose 33.8%, from $89,300 to $119,500. The effective rate fell 18.5% over the same span, a steeper move than in 77% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 9.1%, to $1,211. 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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $1,110 to $1,211, a change of 9%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 496 of 1,487 owner-occupied homes (33.4%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 1.9% of median household income. The gap between those two positions is the whole story on this page.
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, 496 of 1,487 owner-occupied homes (33.4%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 33.4% (496)
- $800 to $1,499 26.7% (397)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.2% (181)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.9% (222)
- $3,000 or more 10.8% (160)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
31 homes here (2.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Missouri handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Putnam County pay about the same bill, within a 8% gap either way.
Putnam County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Putnam County's effective rate is higher than 93% of the 115 counties in Missouri - ranking #8 of 115.
Where Putnam County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.01% more affordable than 34% 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
Putnam County taxes property at 1.01%, about 19% above the Missouri average, yet its median bill of $1,211 lands roughly 38% 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.
Putnam County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Putnam County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 1.9% | - | - |
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 is PAR · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Missouri counties.
Putnam County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,211 +10.0% | 1.01% |
| 2023 | $1,101 -5.2% | 0.99% |
| 2022 | $1,162 +10.5% | 1.17% |
| 2021 | $1,052 -5.2% | 1.24% |
| 2020 | $1,110 | 1.24% |
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.
Putnam County: tax takes only 1.9% of income
Counties near Putnam County's effective rate
On effective rate, Putnam County sits nearest Scott County (MN), Polk County (MN), Isanti County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Sutton County (TX), Bureau County (IL), Chippewa County (WI).
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
Putnam County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 40 of 2,050 returns from Putnam County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,000 - 50% of those reporters sat in the $25-50k 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 Missouri
Putnam County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Putnam County, Missouri?
- The median annual property tax in Putnam County is $1,211, an effective rate of 1.01% on a $119,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Putnam County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Putnam County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.01% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Putnam County?
- Putnam County, Missouri scores B- (66/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-96). 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 Putnam County?
- Property taxes in Putnam County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $63,510 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Putnam County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Putnam County climbed 9.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,110 to $1,211, 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 Putnam County's PAR rate
Putnam County's $1,211 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 →
Income burden is light here: about 1.9% of Putnam County's $63,510 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Putnam 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: 1.01%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,211/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 (PAR · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR LIGHT
Billings County, ND
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Putnam County at $1,211/yr; rate 0.37% vs Putnam County 1.01%.
Lonoke County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Putnam County at $1,211/yr; rate 0.63% vs Putnam County 1.01%.
Petroleum County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Putnam County at $1,211/yr; rate 0.60% vs Putnam County 1.01%.
Tipton County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Putnam County at $1,211/yr; rate 0.50% vs Putnam County 1.01%.
Missouri county set
State ACS overview for every published Missouri county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Putnam County stamps PAR · 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 Putnam County (PAR · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.