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Missouri · County property tax · ACS 2024

St. Clair County Property Taxes

The median homeowner in St. Clair County pays $966 a year, an effective rate of 0.61%, far below the U.S. average.

$966
Median tax / yr · Low bill
0.61%
Effective rate · Below-median rate
-52%
vs U.S. average
#84 of 115
rank in MO

The verdict

Homeowners in St. Clair County pay a median $966 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.61%, more affordable than 70% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).

$966
Median annual tax bill, 2024
0.61%
Effective rate on median home
#932 of 3135
U.S. counties by tax burden
-52%
vs the national average bill

Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($157,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.

Tax affordability score · St. Clair County, MO

70/100

5 ACS dimensions · release 2024

Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Bill size B+
$966/yr

St. Clair County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties

Income room B
1.8%

Median tax as a share of St. Clair County's median household income

Rate relief B
0.61%

St. Clair County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)

Mortgage premium C+
+$209

Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in St. Clair County

Housing pressure D
2.96×

Median home value relative to St. Clair County's median income

St. Clair County affordability profile (scored ACS dimensions) 5-axis radar comparing 1 series across Bill size, Income room, Rate relief, Mortgage premium, Housing pressure. Bill sizeIncome roomRate reliefMortgage premiumHousing pressure 70 B
St. Clair County affordability profile (scored ACS dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Bill size: 79/100 (B+) · $966/yr
  • Income room: 73/100 (B) · 1.8%
  • Rate relief: 71/100 (B) · 0.61%
  • Mortgage premium: 63/100 (C+) · +$209
  • Housing pressure: 49/100 (D) · 2.96×

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Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Missouri. Population: 9,587. Owner-occupied homes: 3,093.

The median annual property tax in St. Clair County is $966, which is 50% lower than the Missouri state average and 52% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.61% on a median home value of $157,100. Property taxes represent 1.8% of the median household income in this county.

What This Data Tells Us About St. Clair County

Primary signal

The bill sits well below the national median

Homeowners in St. Clair County pay a median annual property tax of $966, far below the national median and far below the Missouri state median. On a $157,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.61% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.

Decision signal 2

Near the middle of Missouri counties by effective rate

St. Clair County ranks #84 of 115 counties in Missouri by effective rate (27% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).

Decision signal 3

Income carries a light tax share

Property taxes in St. Clair County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $53,043 median household income.

Decision signal 4

The effective rate sits near the national middle

St. Clair County's 0.61% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 70%).

Decision signal 5

The latest release moved the bill up

Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 6.0%, from $911 to $966. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.

This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in St. Clair County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making decisions that depend on these numbers.

Median Annual Tax
$966
Low bill
-50% vs State -52% vs US
Median Home Value
$157,100
-32% vs State -31% vs US
Effective Tax Rate
0.61%
Below-median rate
-28% vs State -34% vs US

How to read this county's bill

The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 27% from $760 to $966. 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 1,122 of 3,093 owner-occupied homes (36.3%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.

Incomes here are in the lowest quarter nationally while the rate sits just below the middle, and the median bill lands at 1.8% of median household income. The rate reads as unremarkable in a national ranking; the earnings behind it are not, and the ratio above is where the two meet.

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 St. Clair County Homeowners Actually Pay

The single largest group of St. Clair County homeowners, 1,122 of 3,093 owner-occupied homes (36.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.

  • Less than $800 36.3% (1,122)
  • $800 to $1,499 34.9% (1,078)
  • $1,500 to $1,999 11.2% (346)
  • $2,000 to $2,999 11.4% (353)
  • $3,000 or more 3.4% (105)

Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.

89 homes here (2.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Missouri handles assessments and appeals.

With vs Without Mortgage

With Mortgage
$1,103
$92/mo
Without Mortgage
$894
$75/mo

In St. Clair County, mortgaged homeowners pay 23% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.

How St. Clair County compares

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.

St. Clair County 0.61%
Missouri average 0.85%
U.S. average 0.92%

St. Clair County's effective rate is higher than 27% of the 115 counties in Missouri - ranking #84 of 115 for property tax burden.

Where St. Clair County sits among every U.S. county

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)

0.61% Among the most affordable more affordable than 70% of 3,135 U.S. counties

Show national distribution This county 0.00% 4.00% every U.S. county, bucketed by value

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 St. Clair County moved from $760 in the 2020 release to $966 in 2024, a change of about 27%. 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.

St. Clair County vs Benchmarks

Metric St. Clair County Missouri Avg U.S. Avg
Median Annual Tax Low bill $966 $1,948 $1,993
Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate 0.61% 0.85% 0.92%
Median Home Value $157,100 $230,300 $227,791
Tax as % of income Below-median income burden 1.8% - -

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.

St. Clair County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - still check the parcel card

On St. Clair County's published figures (QUIET · LIGHT), a $157,100 median home carries a $966 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $97 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in Missouri.

Property Tax History · QUIET · LIGHT

$700$750$800$850$900$950$1,000 20202021202220232024 $966
Median annual property tax in St. Clair County, 2020–2024 (ACS). Up +27% over the period.
Year Median Tax (vs prior release) Effective Rate
2024 $966 +6.0% 0.61%
2023 $911 +4.6% 0.64%
2022 $871 +5.7% 0.69%
2021 $824 +8.4% 0.73%
2020 $760 0.80%

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.

Tax Burden

Tax-to-Income Ratio
1.8%
of median household income
Median Income
$53,043
per year
Monthly Tax
$81
per month

Tax Affordability Score

9
Very Affordable

An effective rate well below the national average of 0.92% puts St. Clair County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.

Very Expensive Very Affordable

How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of St. Clair County or any other county.

Counties with similar tax profiles

On effective rate, St. Clair County sits nearest Tallahatchie County (MS), Simpson County (MS), St. Helena Parish (LA).

On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Andrews County (TX), Alachua County (FL), Guadalupe 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.

What tax filers report in St. Clair County

Of the 3,960 federal returns filed from St. Clair County in 2022, 50 (1.3% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $2,720 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 60% of the county's reporting returns.

Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.

Other Counties in Missouri

View all counties in Missouri →

Frequently Asked Questions

How does St. Clair County property tax compare to the national average?
Property taxes in St. Clair County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.61% versus 0.92% nationally.
Are property taxes increasing in St. Clair County?
The ACS median property-tax bill for St. Clair County is recorded at $966 in the 2024 5-year release against $760 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 3,093 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 St. Clair County?
Property taxes in St. Clair County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $53,043 median household income.
What is the tax affordability score for St. Clair County?
St. Clair County, Missouri scores B (70/100) 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 B+ ($966/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 is the average property tax in St. Clair County, Missouri?
The median annual property tax in St. Clair County is $966, an effective rate of 0.61% on a $157,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).

What to do with St. Clair County's numbers

  • St. Clair County's $966 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 1.8% of St. Clair County's $53,043 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
  • St. Clair County ranks #84 of 115 Missouri counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Missouri overview →
  • If St. Clair County's assessment looks high versus the $157,100 typical home, check Missouri's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition

Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($157,100); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.

Nationwide peers by effective rate & median bill

Two PlainPropertyTax-derived comparison paths for St. Clair County, both outside Missouri so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice. Axes stay disjoint: median-bill peers exclude the effective-rate peer set.

Similar effective rate

Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.61%.

Similar median bill

Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $966/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.

Read with St. Clair County

Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for St. Clair County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.

QUIET LIGHT

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.

Share and download this county card
Editorial standards and provenance

PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for St. Clair County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.