New Mexico · County property tax · ACS 2024
Sierra County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Sierra County pays $789 a year, an effective rate of 0.52%, far below the U.S. average.
- $789
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.52%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -60%
- vs U.S. average
- #22 of 33
- rank in NM
The verdict
Homeowners in Sierra County pay a median $789 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.52%, more affordable than 81% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $789
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.52%
- Effective rate on median home
- #580 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -60%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($152,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for New Mexico. Population: 11,500. Owner-occupied homes: 3,906.
The median annual property tax in Sierra County is $789, which is 54% lower than the New Mexico state average and 60% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.52% on a median home value of $152,600. Property taxes represent 1.9% of the median household income in this county.
Sierra County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Sierra County's 0.52% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 81%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Sierra County pay a median annual property tax of $789, far below the national median and far below the New Mexico state median. On a $152,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.52% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Sierra County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $41,600 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of New Mexico counties by effective rate
Sierra County ranks #22 of 33 counties in New Mexico by effective rate (33% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Sierra 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
Sierra County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 3.3% 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 22.9%, from $642 to $789.
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 $642 to $789, a gain of 23%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 1,841 of 3,906 owner-occupied homes (47.1%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 1.9% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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 Sierra County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Sierra County homeowners, 1,841 of 3,906 owner-occupied homes (47.1%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 47.1% (1,841)
- $800 to $1,499 25.9% (1,012)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.0% (351)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.0% (195)
- $3,000 or more 5.2% (205)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
302 homes here (7.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how New Mexico handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Sierra County pay a substantially higher bill, 40% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Sierra County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Sierra County's effective rate is higher than 33% of the 33 counties in New Mexico - ranking #22 of 33.
Where Sierra County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.52% Among the most affordable more affordable than 81% 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
Below New Mexico on both measures
Sierra County's effective rate runs 26% under the New Mexico median and its bill 54% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $789 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the New Mexico norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Sierra County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Sierra County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low 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.
Sierra County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · New Mexico counties.
Sierra County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $789 -0.5% | 0.52% |
| 2023 | $793 +8.0% | 0.55% |
| 2022 | $734 +11.6% | 0.53% |
| 2021 | $658 +2.5% | 0.54% |
| 2020 | $642 | 0.53% |
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.
Sierra County: tax takes only 1.9% of income
Counties near Sierra County's effective rate
On effective rate, Sierra County sits nearest Webster County (MO), Wayne County (MO), Dent County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Richland County (SC), Adair County (OK), Garrard County (KY).
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
Sierra County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 90 of 5,240 returns from Sierra County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,700 - 44% 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 New Mexico
Sierra County rate FAQs
- How does Sierra County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Sierra County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.52% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Sierra County, New Mexico?
- The median annual property tax in Sierra County is $789, an effective rate of 0.52% on a $152,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Sierra County?
- Sierra County, New Mexico scores B- (69/100) 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 bill size at A ($789/yr). 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 Sierra County?
- Property taxes in Sierra County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $41,600 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Sierra County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Sierra County jumped 22.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $642 to $789, 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 Sierra County's QUIET rate
Sierra County's $789 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 Sierra County's $41,600 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Sierra 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: 0.52%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $789/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Sierra County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Sierra County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Worth County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Sierra County at $789/yr; rate 0.82% vs Sierra County 0.52%.
Foard County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $790/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.12% vs Sierra County 0.52%.
Muhlenberg County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $790/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.62% vs Sierra County 0.52%.
Pittsburg County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $788/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.50% vs Sierra County 0.52%.
New Mexico county set
State ACS overview for every published New Mexico county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Sierra County stamps QUIET · 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 Sierra County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.