Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Sanders County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Sanders County pays $1,889 a year, an effective rate of 0.53%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,889
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.53%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -5%
- vs U.S. average
- #49 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Sanders County pay a median $1,889 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.53%, more affordable than 80% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,889
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.53%
- Effective rate on median home
- #619 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -5%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($359,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 13,285. Owner-occupied homes: 4,431.
The median annual property tax in Sanders County is $1,889, which is 30% lower than the Montana state average and 5% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.53% on a median home value of $359,000. Property taxes represent 3.3% of the median household income in this county.
Sanders County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Sanders County's 0.53% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 80%).
Decision signal 2
High among Montana counties by effective rate
Sanders County ranks #49 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (13% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the Montana median
Homeowners in Sanders County pay a median annual property tax of $1,889, modestly below the national median and well below the Montana state median. On a $359,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.53% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 6.3%, from $1,777 to $1,889. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Sanders County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $57,476 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Sanders 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 36% from $1,391 to $1,889. 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 plurality of owner-occupied homes here falls in the $2,000 to $2,999 band, at 1,159 of 4,431 (26.2%). This shows the reported distribution around the county median, while individual assessments can vary.
Household income sits in the second quarter nationally and the effective rate in the lowest, so the median bill takes 3.3% of median household income. Both figures point the same way, which is unusual enough that the ratio above is worth reading rather than assumed.
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 Sanders County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Sanders County homeowners, 1,159 of 4,431 owner-occupied homes (26.2%), pays $2,000 to $2,999 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 14.5% (643)
- $800 to $1,499 19.4% (859)
- $1,500 to $1,999 18.8% (835)
- $2,000 to $2,999 26.2% (1,159)
- $3,000 or more 18.2% (808)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
127 homes here (2.9%) 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 Sanders County pay about the same bill, a 7% gap.
Sanders County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Sanders County's effective rate is higher than 13% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #49 of 56.
Where Sanders County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.53% Among the most affordable more affordable than 80% 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 Sanders County moved from $1,391 in the 2020 release to $1,889 in 2024, a change of about 36%. 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.
Sanders County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Sanders County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.3% | - | - |
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.
Sanders County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Sanders County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,889 +6.3% | 0.53% |
| 2023 | $1,777 +7.5% | 0.55% |
| 2022 | $1,653 +12.4% | 0.58% |
| 2021 | $1,470 +5.7% | 0.56% |
| 2020 | $1,391 | 0.55% |
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.
Sanders County: tax-to-income at 3.3%
Counties near Sanders County's effective rate
On effective rate, Sanders County sits nearest Benton County (MO), Barry County (MO), Tunica County (MS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Laramie County (WY), Rock County (MN), Union County (GA).
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
Sanders County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 300 of 5,950 returns from Sanders County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,463 - 30% of those reporters sat in the $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 Montana
Sanders County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Sanders County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Sanders County is $1,889, an effective rate of 0.53% on a $359,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Sanders County?
- Sanders County, Montana scores C- (50/100) 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 rate relief at B+ (0.53%). 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.
- How does Sanders County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Sanders County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.53% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Sanders County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Sanders County is recorded at $1,889 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,391 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 4,431 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Sanders County?
- Property taxes in Sanders County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $57,476 median household income.
What to do with Sanders County's QUIET rate
Inside Montana, Sanders County's $1,889 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Montana overview →
Sanders County ranks #49 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Sanders County's QUIET 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: 0.53%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,889/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Sanders County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Sanders County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Brunswick County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,890/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.54% vs Sanders County 0.53%.
Polk County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,888/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.99% vs Sanders County 0.53%.
Trinity County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,888/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.58% vs Sanders County 0.53%.
Christian County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,891/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.64% vs Sanders County 0.53%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Sanders 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.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Sanders County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.