North Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Steele County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Steele County pays $1,322 a year, an effective rate of 1.01%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,322
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.01%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -34%
- vs U.S. average
- #20 of 53
- rank in ND
The verdict
Homeowners in Steele County pay a median $1,322 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.01%, more affordable than 34% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,322
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.01%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2058 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -34%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($130,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Dakota. Population: 1,804. Owner-occupied homes: 627.
The median annual property tax in Steele County is $1,322, which is 46% lower than the North Dakota state average and 34% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.01% on a median home value of $130,700. Property taxes represent 1.7% of the median household income in this county.
Steele County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Steele County's 1.01% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 34%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Steele County pay a median annual property tax of $1,322, well below the national median and well below the North Dakota state median. On a $130,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.01% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Steele County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.7% of the $77,500 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 15.4%, from $1,146 to $1,322. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Near the middle of North Dakota counties by effective rate
Steele County ranks #20 of 53 counties in North Dakota by effective rate (62% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Steele 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 34% from $983 to $1,322. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 194 of 627 owner-occupied homes (30.9%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 1.7% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 Steele County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Steele County homeowners, 194 of 627 owner-occupied homes (30.9%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 20.6% (129)
- $800 to $1,499 30.9% (194)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.5% (97)
- $2,000 to $2,999 10.5% (66)
- $3,000 or more 12.4% (78)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
63 homes here (10.0%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how North Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Steele County, mortgaged homeowners pay 26% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Steele County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Steele County's effective rate is higher than 62% of the 53 counties in North Dakota - ranking #20 of 53.
Where Steele County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.01% more affordable than 34% 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 Steele County moved from $983 in the 2020 release to $1,322 in 2024, a change of about 34%. 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.
Steele County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Steele County | North Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.7% | - | - |
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.
Steele County is PAR · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Dakota counties.
Steele County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,322 +15.4% | 1.01% |
| 2023 | $1,146 -1.1% | 0.95% |
| 2022 | $1,159 +6.0% | 0.97% |
| 2021 | $1,093 +11.2% | 1.15% |
| 2020 | $983 | 1.13% |
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.
Steele County: tax takes only 1.7% of income
Counties near Steele County's effective rate
On effective rate, Steele County sits nearest Hayes County (NE), Garden County (NE), Putnam County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Liberty County (TX), Craig County (VA), Jackson County (AL).
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
IRS county file: no disclosed Steele County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for Steele County. That is a limit of the published data rather than a finding about the county: county-level figures are withheld where the counts are too small to disclose safely, which is common in places with few filers. Roughly one county in sixteen is in this position, so the filer view available elsewhere on this site is simply not available here. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data.
Other Counties in North Dakota
Steele County rate FAQs
- How does Steele County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Steele County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.01% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Steele County, North Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Steele County is $1,322, an effective rate of 1.01% on a $130,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Steele County?
- Steele County, North Dakota scores C+ (60/100) 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+ (1.69×). 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 Steele County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Steele County is recorded at $1,322 in the 2024 5-year release against $983 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 627 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 Steele County?
- Property taxes in Steele County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.7% of the $77,500 median household income.
What to do with Steele County's PAR rate
Steele County's $1,322 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 1.7% of Steele County's $77,500 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Steele County's PAR 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: 1.01%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,322/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Steele County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Steele County (PAR · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR LIGHT
McPherson County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,323/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.55% vs Steele County 1.01%.
Newton County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,323/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.77% vs Steele County 1.01%.
Davidson County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,320/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.60% vs Steele County 1.01%.
Randolph County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,324/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.67% vs Steele County 1.01%.
North Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published North Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Steele County stamps PAR · 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 Steele County (PAR · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.