New Mexico · County property tax · ACS 2024
Union County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Union County pays $859 a year, an effective rate of 0.70%, far below the U.S. average.
- $859
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.70%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -57%
- vs U.S. average
- #6 of 33
- rank in NM
The verdict
Homeowners in Union County pay a median $859 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.70%, more affordable than 60% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $859
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.70%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1260 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -57%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($122,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for New Mexico. Population: 4,013. Owner-occupied homes: 1,041.
The median annual property tax in Union County is $859, which is 50% lower than the New Mexico state average and 57% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.70% on a median home value of $122,700. Property taxes represent 1.8% 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 0.70% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 60%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Union County pay a median annual property tax of $859, far below the national median and far below the New Mexico state median. On a $122,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.70% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among New Mexico counties by effective rate
Union County ranks #6 of 33 counties in New Mexico by effective rate (82% 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 1.8% of the $46,694 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 10.7%, from $776 to $859. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 63% from $527 to $859. 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: 429 of 1,041 owner-occupied homes (41.2%) 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 Union County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Union County homeowners, 429 of 1,041 owner-occupied homes (41.2%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 41.2% (429)
- $800 to $1,499 37.6% (391)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.1% (84)
- $2,000 to $2,999 3.4% (35)
- $3,000 or more 3.1% (32)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
70 homes here (6.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how New Mexico handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Union County pay a substantially higher bill, 49% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
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 82% of the 33 counties in New Mexico - ranking #6 of 33.
Where Union County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.70% Among the most affordable more affordable than 60% 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 Union County moved from $527 in the 2020 release to $859 in 2024, a change of about 63%. 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.
Union County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Union County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| 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.
Union County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · New Mexico counties.
Union County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $859 +10.7% | 0.70% |
| 2023 | $776 +22.6% | 0.57% |
| 2022 | $633 +3.6% | 0.50% |
| 2021 | $611 +15.9% | 0.47% |
| 2020 | $527 | 0.56% |
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 1.8% of income
Counties near Union County's effective rate
On effective rate, Union County sits nearest Rosebud County (MT), St. Francois County (MO), Holt County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Jones County (SD), Telfair County (GA), Schleicher 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.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Union County: only 1% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 20 of 1,800 returns from Union County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,300 - 100% of those reporters sat in the $25-50k 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 New Mexico
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 0.70% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Union County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Union County is recorded at $859 in the 2024 5-year release against $527 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 1,041 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 is the average property tax in Union County, New Mexico?
- The median annual property tax in Union County is $859, an effective rate of 0.70% on a $122,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Union County?
- Union County, New Mexico scores B- (67/100) 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 A- ($859/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 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 1.8% of the $46,694 median household income.
What to do with Union County's UNDER rate
Union County's $859 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 Union County's $46,694 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: 0.70%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $859/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
Mecklenburg County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Union County at $859/yr; rate 0.45% vs Union County 0.70%.
Rich County, UT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Union County at $859/yr; rate 0.26% vs Union County 0.70%.
Swain County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Union County at $859/yr; rate 0.41% vs Union County 0.70%.
Shelby County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $860/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.86% vs Union County 0.70%.
New Mexico county set
State ACS overview for every published New Mexico 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.