Wisconsin · County property tax · ACS 2024
Sauk County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Sauk County pays $3,755 a year, an effective rate of 1.45%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,755
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.45%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +88%
- vs U.S. average
- #21 of 72
- rank in WI
The verdict
Homeowners in Sauk County pay a median $3,755 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.45%, more affordable than 13% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,755
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.45%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2737 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +88%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($258,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Wisconsin. Population: 66,009. Owner-occupied homes: 20,252.
The median annual property tax in Sauk County is $3,755, which is 1% lower than the Wisconsin state average and 88% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.45% on a median home value of $258,600. Property taxes represent 4.7% of the median household income in this county.
Why Sauk County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Sauk County pay a median annual property tax of $3,755, far above the national median and roughly in line with the Wisconsin state median. On a $258,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.45% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Sauk County's 1.45% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 13%).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Sauk County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.7% of the $79,541 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Wisconsin counties by effective rate
Sauk County ranks #21 of 72 counties in Wisconsin by effective rate (71% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Sauk 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Sauk County's effective rate fell 16.3% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 39.8%, leaving the median bill 17.1% higher at $3,755. That rate move is larger than the one in 70% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 $3,208 to $3,755, a gain of 17%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 13,130 of 20,252 owner-occupied homes (64.8%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 4.7% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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 Sauk County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Sauk County homeowners, 13,130 of 20,252 owner-occupied homes (64.8%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 5.5% (1,109)
- $800 to $1,499 4.2% (851)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.6% (934)
- $2,000 to $2,999 17.7% (3,594)
- $3,000 or more 64.8% (13,130)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
634 homes here (3.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Wisconsin handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Sauk County pay about the same bill, a 9% gap.
Sauk County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Sauk County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Sauk County's median bill is 1% below the Wisconsin median and 88% above the U.S. median.
Close to the Wisconsin median on both measures
Rate and bill both land within 10% of the Wisconsin medians here, which makes Sauk County a reasonable stand-in for the state when comparing against counties elsewhere. It also means the county-level figure adds little beyond the state figure for this particular comparison; the $3,755 median bill and the state median tell substantially the same story.
Sauk County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Sauk County | Wisconsin Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.7% | - | - |
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.
Is Sauk County's $3,755 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Sauk County's $3,755 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $376/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Wisconsin.
Sauk County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,755 +3.0% | 1.45% |
| 2023 | $3,646 +2.7% | 1.50% |
| 2022 | $3,550 +7.3% | 1.56% |
| 2021 | $3,309 +3.1% | 1.69% |
| 2020 | $3,208 | 1.73% |
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.
Sauk County: tax takes 4.7% of income
Counties near Sauk County's median bill
On effective rate, Sauk County sits nearest Bee County (TX), Corson County (SD), Mifflin County (PA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Montgomery County (NY), Monroe County (NY), Scott County (MN).
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
Sauk County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,480 of 35,080 returns from Sauk County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,911 - 31% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k 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 Wisconsin
Sauk County bill FAQs
- How does Sauk County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Sauk County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.45% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Sauk County?
- Property taxes in Sauk County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.7% of the $79,541 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Sauk County, Wisconsin?
- The median annual property tax in Sauk County is $3,755, an effective rate of 1.45% on a $258,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Sauk County?
- Sauk County, Wisconsin scores F (18/100) 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 D (+$330). 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 Sauk County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Sauk County climbed 17.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,208 to $3,755, 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 Sauk County's HEAVY bill
Sauk County's $3,755 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Sauk County ranks #21 of 72 Wisconsin counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Wisconsin overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Sauk County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.45%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,755/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Sauk County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Sauk County (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Tioga County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,751/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 2.33% vs Sauk County 1.45%.
Dakota County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,749/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 0.98% vs Sauk County 1.45%.
Miami-Dade County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,744/yr (near-tied bill ABS $11); rate 0.81% vs Sauk County 1.45%.
Cayuga County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,740/yr (near-tied bill ABS $15); rate 2.19% vs Sauk County 1.45%.
Wisconsin county set
State ACS overview for every published Wisconsin county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Sauk County stamps STEEP · HEAVY - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 Sauk County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.