Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Union County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Union County pays $927 a year, an effective rate of 0.89%, far below the U.S. average.
- $927
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.89%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -53%
- vs U.S. average
- #8 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Union County pay a median $927 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.89%, more affordable than 44% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $927
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.89%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1770 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -53%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($104,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 13,260. Owner-occupied homes: 3,651.
The median annual property tax in Union County is $927, which is 40% lower than the Kentucky state average and 53% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.89% on a median home value of $104,500. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Union County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Union County's 0.89% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 44%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Union County pay a median annual property tax of $927, far below the national median and well below the Kentucky state median. On a $104,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.89% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Kentucky counties by effective rate
Union County ranks #8 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (93% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Union County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $60,327 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Union 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
Union County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 5.1% up, against a median home value that rose 15.0%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 20.9%, from $767 to $927.
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 $767 to $927, 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 1,481 of 3,651 owner-occupied homes (40.6%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 1.5% of median household income. The gap between those two positions is the whole story on this page.
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 Union County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Union County homeowners, 1,481 of 3,651 owner-occupied homes (40.6%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 40.6% (1,481)
- $800 to $1,499 28.6% (1,045)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.5% (347)
- $2,000 to $2,999 6.2% (225)
- $3,000 or more 7.0% (255)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
298 homes here (8.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Union County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+80%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Union County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Union County's effective rate is higher than 93% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #8 of 120.
Where Union County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.89% more affordable than 44% 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
Union County taxes property at 0.89%, about 19% above the Kentucky average, yet its median bill of $927 lands roughly 40% 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.
Union County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Union County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-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.
Union County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Union County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $927 +8.0% | 0.89% |
| 2023 | $858 -3.7% | 0.79% |
| 2022 | $891 +8.1% | 0.82% |
| 2021 | $824 +7.4% | 0.91% |
| 2020 | $767 | 0.84% |
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.
Union County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Union County's effective rate
On effective rate, Union County sits nearest Newton County (GA), Cecil County (MD), Harford County (MD).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lincoln County (WA), Floyd County (TX), Winchester city (VA).
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
Union County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 100 of 5,610 returns from Union County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,260 - 40% 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 Kentucky
Union County rate FAQs
- How does Union County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Union County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.89% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Union County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Union County is $927, an effective rate of 0.89% on a $104,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Union County?
- Union County, Kentucky scores C+ (63/100) 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+ (1.73×). 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 Union County?
- Property taxes in Union County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $60,327 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Union County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Union County jumped 20.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $767 to $927, 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 Union County's UNDER rate
Union County's $927 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 Union County's $60,327 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Union County's UNDER 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: 0.89%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $927/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Union County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Union County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Boone County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Union County at $927/yr; rate 0.49% vs Union County 0.89%.
Gadsden County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Union County at $927/yr; rate 0.53% vs Union County 0.89%.
Giles County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $928/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.61% vs Union County 0.89%.
Grant County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $929/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.68% vs Union County 0.89%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Union County stamps UNDER · 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 Union County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.