Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Valley County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Valley County pays $2,333 a year, an effective rate of 1.18%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,333
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.18%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +17%
- vs U.S. average
- #4 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Valley County pay a median $2,333 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.18%, more affordable than 24% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,333
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.18%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2381 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +17%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($198,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 7,519. Owner-occupied homes: 2,316.
The median annual property tax in Valley County is $2,333, which is 13% lower than the Montana state average and 17% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.18% on a median home value of $198,400. Property taxes represent 3.3% of the median household income in this county.
Valley County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Valley County's 1.18% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 24%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Montana counties by effective rate
Valley County ranks #4 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (93% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Valley County pay a median annual property tax of $2,333, notably higher than the national median and notably lower than the Montana state median. On a $198,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.18% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 6.8%, from $2,185 to $2,333. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Valley County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $71,695 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Valley 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 64% from $1,426 to $2,333. 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 plurality of owner-occupied homes here falls in the $2,000 to $2,999 band, at 829 of 2,316 (35.8%). This shows the reported distribution around the county median, while individual assessments can vary.
The rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 3.3% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to here.
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.
Valley County is an outlier inside Montana
Across the 56 Montana counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 0.73%. Valley County is at 1.18%, which sits 2.0 standard deviations above that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What Valley County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Valley County homeowners, 829 of 2,316 owner-occupied homes (35.8%), pays $2,000 to $2,999 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 13.6% (316)
- $800 to $1,499 13.7% (318)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.0% (186)
- $2,000 to $2,999 35.8% (829)
- $3,000 or more 23.4% (543)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
124 homes here (5.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Valley County, mortgaged homeowners pay 13% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Valley County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Valley County's effective rate is higher than 93% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #4 of 56.
Where Valley County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.18% more affordable than 24% 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 Valley County moved from $1,426 in the 2020 release to $2,333 in 2024, a change of about 64%. 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.
Valley County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Valley County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.3% | - | - |
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.
Valley County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Valley County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,333 +6.8% | 1.18% |
| 2023 | $2,185 +14.1% | 1.10% |
| 2022 | $1,915 +16.6% | 1.05% |
| 2021 | $1,643 +15.2% | 1.02% |
| 2020 | $1,426 | 0.95% |
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.
Valley County: tax-to-income at 3.3%
Counties near Valley County's effective rate
On effective rate, Valley County sits nearest Waseca County (MN), Muskegon County (MI), Van Buren County (IA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Ouachita Parish (LA), Chowan County (NC), Brooks 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
Valley County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 160 of 3,520 returns from Valley County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,513 - 25% of those reporters sat in the $75-100k 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 Montana
Valley County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Valley County?
- Valley County, Montana scores F (33/100) 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 C (2.77×). 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 Valley County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Valley County is recorded at $2,333 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,426 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 2,316 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 Valley County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Valley County is $2,333, an effective rate of 1.18% on a $198,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Valley County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Valley County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.18% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Valley County?
- Property taxes in Valley County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $71,695 median household income.
What to do with Valley County's PAR rate
At Valley County's 1.18% effective rate, a $198,400 home implies about $2,333/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
Valley County ranks #4 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Valley 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: 1.18%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,333/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Valley County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Valley County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Mason County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,334/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.06% vs Valley County 1.18%.
Boone County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,328/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 0.85% vs Valley County 1.18%.
Matagorda County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,328/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 1.35% vs Valley County 1.18%.
Grant County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,339/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 0.78% vs Valley County 1.18%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Valley County stamps PAR · MID - 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 Valley County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.