Kansas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Seward County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Seward County pays $2,284 a year, an effective rate of 1.67%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,284
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.67%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- +15%
- vs U.S. average
- #31 of 105
- rank in KS
The verdict
Homeowners in Seward County pay a median $2,284 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.67%, more affordable than 7% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,284
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.67%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2928 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 ($136,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kansas. Population: 21,486. Owner-occupied homes: 4,485.
The median annual property tax in Seward County is $2,284, which is 18% lower than the Kansas state average and 15% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.67% on a median home value of $136,500. Property taxes represent 3.6% of the median household income in this county.
Seward County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national headwind
Seward County's 1.67% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 93% pay more.
Decision signal 2
Near the middle of Kansas counties by effective rate
Seward County ranks #31 of 105 counties in Kansas by effective rate (70% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Seward County pay a median annual property tax of $2,284, notably higher than the national median and notably lower than the Kansas state median. On a $136,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.67% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Seward County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.6% of the $63,827 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Seward 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
Seward County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 1.6% down, against a median home value that rose 22.8%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 20.8%, from $1,890 to $2,284.
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 $1,890 to $2,284, a gain of 21%. 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: 1,330 of 4,485 owner-occupied homes (29.7%) 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.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 3.6% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned here.
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 Seward County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Seward County homeowners, 1,330 of 4,485 owner-occupied homes (29.7%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 8.1% (363)
- $800 to $1,499 17.0% (764)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.2% (727)
- $2,000 to $2,999 27.1% (1,214)
- $3,000 or more 29.7% (1,330)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
87 homes here (1.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kansas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Seward County, mortgaged homeowners pay 13% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Seward County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Seward County's effective rate is higher than 70% of the 105 counties in Kansas - ranking #31 of 105.
Where Seward County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.67% more affordable than 7% 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
Seward County taxes property at 1.67%, about 29% above the Kansas average, yet its median bill of $2,284 lands roughly 18% 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.
Seward County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Seward County | Kansas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.6% | - | - |
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.
Seward County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Seward County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $136,500 median home carries a $2,284 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $228 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Kansas.
Seward County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,284 +1.2% | 1.67% |
| 2023 | $2,257 +2.3% | 1.68% |
| 2022 | $2,206 +17.0% | 1.75% |
| 2021 | $1,886 -0.2% | 1.72% |
| 2020 | $1,890 | 1.70% |
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.
Seward County: tax-to-income at 3.6%
Counties near Seward County's effective rate
On effective rate, Seward County sits nearest Northwest Hills Planning Region (CT), Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region (CT), Kimball County (NE).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Winchester city (VA), Yellow Medicine County (MN), Floyd County (TX).
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
Seward County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 250 of 9,450 returns from Seward County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,764 - 28% 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 Kansas
Seward County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Seward County?
- Seward County, Kansas scores F (30/100) 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 housing pressure at A- (2.14×). 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 is the average property tax in Seward County, Kansas?
- The median annual property tax in Seward County is $2,284, an effective rate of 1.67% on a $136,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Seward County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Seward County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.67% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Seward County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Seward County jumped 20.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,890 to $2,284, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Seward County?
- Property taxes in Seward County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.6% of the $63,827 median household income.
What to do with Seward County's STEEP rate
At Seward County's 1.67% effective rate, a $136,500 home implies about $2,284/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
Seward County ranks #31 of 105 Kansas counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Kansas overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Seward County's STEEP 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: 1.67%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,284/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Seward County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Seward County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Coos County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Seward County at $2,284/yr; rate 0.68% vs Seward County 1.67%.
Saginaw County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Seward County at $2,284/yr; rate 1.49% vs Seward County 1.67%.
Crow Wing County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,283/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.74% vs Seward County 1.67%.
McDonough County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,285/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 2.13% vs Seward County 1.67%.
Kansas county set
State ACS overview for every published Kansas county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Seward County stamps STEEP · MID - 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 Seward County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.