Indiana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Starke County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Starke County pays $967 a year, an effective rate of 0.61%, far below the U.S. average.
- $967
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.61%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -51%
- vs U.S. average
- #62 of 92
- rank in IN
The verdict
Homeowners in Starke County pay a median $967 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.61%, more affordable than 70% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $967
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.61%
- Effective rate on median home
- #932 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -51%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($157,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Indiana. Population: 23,365. Owner-occupied homes: 7,453.
The median annual property tax in Starke County is $967, which is 40% lower than the Indiana state average and 51% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.61% on a median home value of $157,700. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Starke County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Starke County's 0.61% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 70%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Starke County pay a median annual property tax of $967, far below the national median and well below the Indiana state median. On a $157,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.61% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Starke County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $63,960 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Indiana counties by effective rate
Starke County ranks #62 of 92 counties in Indiana by effective rate (33% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Starke 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 9.2% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 63% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 41.9%, the median bill rose 28.9% to $967: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 29% from $750 to $967. 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: 2,869 of 7,453 owner-occupied homes (38.5%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 1.5% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Starke County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Starke County homeowners, 2,869 of 7,453 owner-occupied homes (38.5%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 38.5% (2,869)
- $800 to $1,499 27.6% (2,058)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.7% (873)
- $2,000 to $2,999 9.0% (674)
- $3,000 or more 9.0% (672)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
307 homes here (4.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Indiana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Starke County pay about the same bill, a 9% gap.
Starke County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Starke County's effective rate is higher than 33% of the 92 counties in Indiana - ranking #62 of 92.
Where Starke 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
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 Starke County moved from $750 in the 2020 release to $967 in 2024, a change of about 29%. 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.
Starke County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Starke County | Indiana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.5% | - | - |
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.
Starke County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Indiana counties.
Starke County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $967 +8.0% | 0.61% |
| 2023 | $895 +5.4% | 0.60% |
| 2022 | $849 +14.4% | 0.58% |
| 2021 | $742 -1.1% | 0.63% |
| 2020 | $750 | 0.68% |
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.
Starke County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Starke County's effective rate
On effective rate, Starke County sits nearest Twin Falls County (ID), Greene County (GA), Carroll County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Wythe County (VA), Hyde County (SD), Brown County (KS).
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
Starke County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 200 of 10,610 returns from Starke County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,765 - 35% 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 Indiana
Starke County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Starke County?
- Starke County, Indiana scores B+ (77/100) 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 income room at A- (1.5%). 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 Starke County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Starke County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.61% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Starke County, Indiana?
- The median annual property tax in Starke County is $967, an effective rate of 0.61% on a $157,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Starke County?
- Property taxes in Starke County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $63,960 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Starke County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Starke County jumped 28.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $750 to $967, 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 Starke County's QUIET rate
Starke County's $967 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 1.5% of Starke County's $63,960 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Starke 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: 0.61%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $967/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Starke County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Starke County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Butler County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Starke County at $967/yr; rate 0.67% vs Starke County 0.61%.
Hancock County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Starke County at $967/yr; rate 1.09% vs Starke County 0.61%.
Holt County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Starke County at $967/yr; rate 0.70% vs Starke County 0.61%.
Calcasieu Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $968/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.45% vs Starke County 0.61%.
Indiana county set
State ACS overview for every published Indiana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Starke 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 Starke County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.