South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Sanborn County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Sanborn County pays $1,586 a year, an effective rate of 1.17%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,586
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.17%
- Effective rate · High rate
- -20%
- vs U.S. average
- #15 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Sanborn County pay a median $1,586 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.17%, more affordable than 25% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,586
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.17%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2366 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -20%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($135,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 2,384. Owner-occupied homes: 744.
The median annual property tax in Sanborn County is $1,586, which is 42% lower than the South Dakota state average and 20% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.17% on a median home value of $135,600. Property taxes represent 2.0% of the median household income in this county.
Sanborn County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Sanborn County's 1.17% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 25%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the South Dakota median
Homeowners in Sanborn County pay a median annual property tax of $1,586, notably lower than the national median and well below the South Dakota state median. On a $135,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.17% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among South Dakota counties by effective rate
Sanborn County ranks #15 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (77% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Sanborn County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $78,750 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Sanborn 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 held while the market moved
Sanborn County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 3.9% down, against a median home value that rose 27.1%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 22.2%, from $1,298 to $1,586.
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 $1,298 to $1,586, a gain of 22%. 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 216 of 744 owner-occupied homes (29.0%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 2.0% 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 Sanborn County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Sanborn County homeowners, 216 of 744 owner-occupied homes (29.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 17.6% (131)
- $800 to $1,499 29.0% (216)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.4% (107)
- $2,000 to $2,999 16.0% (119)
- $3,000 or more 21.2% (158)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
13 homes here (1.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Sanborn County pay about the same bill, within a 8% gap either way.
Sanborn County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Sanborn County's effective rate is higher than 77% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #15 of 66.
Where Sanborn County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.17% more affordable than 25% 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
Sanborn County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Sanborn County | South Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.0% | - | - |
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.
Sanborn County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Dakota counties.
Sanborn County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,586 -9.4% | 1.17% |
| 2023 | $1,750 +8.4% | 1.26% |
| 2022 | $1,615 +19.2% | 1.25% |
| 2021 | $1,355 +4.4% | 1.25% |
| 2020 | $1,298 | 1.22% |
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.
Sanborn County: tax-to-income at 2.0%
Counties near Sanborn County's effective rate
On effective rate, Sanborn County sits nearest Cumberland County (PA), Wayne County (OH), Henry County (OH).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Cumberland County (ME), Morton County (ND), Allegan County (MI).
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 Sanborn County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for Sanborn 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 South Dakota
Sanborn County rate FAQs
- How does Sanborn County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Sanborn County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.17% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Sanborn County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Sanborn County is $1,586, an effective rate of 1.17% on a $135,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Sanborn County?
- Sanborn County, South Dakota scores C (59/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-135). 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 Sanborn County?
- Property taxes in Sanborn County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $78,750 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Sanborn County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Sanborn County jumped 22.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,298 to $1,586, 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 Sanborn County's PAR rate
Inside South Dakota, Sanborn County's $1,586 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. South Dakota overview →
Sanborn County ranks #15 of 66 South Dakota counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. South Dakota overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Sanborn 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: 1.17%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,586/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Sanborn County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Sanborn County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Martin County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,587/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.91% vs Sanborn County 1.17%.
Darke County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,584/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.91% vs Sanborn County 1.17%.
Maury County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,588/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.45% vs Sanborn County 1.17%.
Osceola County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,584/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.02% vs Sanborn County 1.17%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Sanborn County stamps PAR · 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 Sanborn County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.