Mississippi · County property tax · ACS 2024
Union County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Union County pays $918 a year, an effective rate of 0.56%, far below the U.S. average.
- $918
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.56%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -54%
- vs U.S. average
- #73 of 81
- rank in MS
The verdict
Homeowners in Union County pay a median $918 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.56%, more affordable than 76% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $918
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.56%
- Effective rate on median home
- #740 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -54%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($163,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Union County, MS
68/100
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.
Union County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median tax as a share of Union County's median household income
Union County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Median home value relative to Union County's median income
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Union County
Read the chart values
- Bill size: 81/100 (A-) · $918/yr
- Income room: 79/100 (B+) · 1.7%
- Rate relief: 76/100 (B+) · 0.56%
- Housing pressure: 50/100 (D) · 2.94×
- Mortgage premium: 27/100 (F) · +$532
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Mississippi. Population: 28,122. Owner-occupied homes: 7,353.
The median annual property tax in Union County is $918, which is 24% lower than the Mississippi state average and 54% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.56% on a median home value of $163,400. Property taxes represent 1.7% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Union County
Primary signal
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Union County pay a median annual property tax of $918, far below the national median and notably lower than the Mississippi state median. On a $163,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.56% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
High among Mississippi counties by effective rate
Union County ranks #73 of 81 counties in Mississippi by effective rate (10% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Union County's 0.56% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 76%).
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 1.7% of the $55,505 median household income.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Union 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Union County's effective rate fell 15.3% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 44.7%, leaving the median bill 22.6% higher at $918. That rate move is larger than the one in 65% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 $749 to $918, 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: 2,539 of 7,353 owner-occupied homes (34.5%) 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 1.7% 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.
Paying off the mortgage changes the picture here
31.2% of Union County homes owned free and clear (1,124 of 3,603) report no property tax at all, against 18.2% of homes still carrying a mortgage. A reported zero is not proof of an exemption: it can equally mean a bill paid by another party, or a reporting artefact. But a gap this size is where age- and disability-based relief usually shows up, because those programmes reach owners who have finished paying.
What Union County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Union County homeowners, 2,539 of 7,353 owner-occupied homes (34.5%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 34.5% (2,539)
- $800 to $1,499 22.6% (1,663)
- $1,500 to $1,999 7.0% (517)
- $2,000 to $2,999 6.1% (452)
- $3,000 or more 5.1% (377)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,805 homes here (24.5%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Mississippi handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Union County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+88%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
How Union County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Union County's effective rate is higher than 10% of the 81 counties in Mississippi - ranking #73 of 81 for property tax burden.
Where Union County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.56% Among the most affordable more affordable than 76% 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 Mississippi on both measures
Union County's effective rate runs 22% under the Mississippi median and its bill 24% 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 $918 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Mississippi norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Union County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Union County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low 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.
Union County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - still check the parcel card
On Union County's published figures (QUIET · LIGHT), a $163,400 median home carries a $918 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $92 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 Mississippi.
Property Tax History · QUIET · LIGHT
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $918 +0.1% | 0.56% |
| 2023 | $917 +5.5% | 0.58% |
| 2022 | $869 +11.0% | 0.60% |
| 2021 | $783 +4.5% | 0.66% |
| 2020 | $749 | 0.66% |
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 Affordability Score
An effective rate well below the national average of 0.92% puts Union County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.
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 Union County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Union County sits nearest Cass County (MN), Wayne County (KY), Trigg County (KY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Winnebago County (IA), St. Clair County (IL), Estill 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
What tax filers report in Union County
Of the 11,910 federal returns filed from Union County in 2022, 390 (3.3% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $2,662 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 36% 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 Mississippi
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Union County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Union County? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Union County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Union County, Mississippi? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Union County? ▼
What to do with Union County's numbers
- Union County's $918 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 Union County's $55,505 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
- Union County ranks #73 of 81 Mississippi counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Mississippi overview →
- If Union County's assessment looks high versus the $163,400 typical home, check Mississippi'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 ($163,400); 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 Union County, both outside Mississippi 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: 0.56%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $918/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 (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Lamb County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $919/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.12% vs Union County 0.56%.
Lewis County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $919/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.71% vs Union County 0.56%.
Orange County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $917/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.58% vs Union County 0.56%.
Rio Blanco County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $917/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.33% vs Union County 0.56%.
Mississippi county set
State ACS overview for every published Mississippi county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Union 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.
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 Union County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.