Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024
Van Buren County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Van Buren County pays $1,355 a year, an effective rate of 1.18%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,355
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.18%
- Effective rate · High rate
- -32%
- vs U.S. average
- #78 of 99
- rank in IA
The verdict
Homeowners in Van Buren County pay a median $1,355 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.18%, more affordable than 24% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,355
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.18%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2381 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -32%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($114,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 7,241. Owner-occupied homes: 2,364.
The median annual property tax in Van Buren County is $1,355, which is 53% lower than the Iowa state average and 32% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.18% on a median home value of $114,600. Property taxes represent 2.2% of the median household income in this county.
Van Buren County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Van Buren County's 1.18% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 24%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Van Buren County pay a median annual property tax of $1,355, well below the national median and far below the Iowa state median. On a $114,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.18% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Iowa counties by effective rate
Van Buren County ranks #78 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (21% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Van Buren County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.2% of the $61,161 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Van Buren 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Van Buren County's effective rate fell 13.7% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 25.7%, leaving the median bill 8.5% higher at $1,355. That rate move is larger than the one in 57% 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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $1,249 to $1,355, a change of 8%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 687 of 2,364 owner-occupied homes (29.1%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 2.2% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned 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.
What Van Buren County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Van Buren County homeowners, 687 of 2,364 owner-occupied homes (29.1%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 24.5% (579)
- $800 to $1,499 29.1% (687)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.7% (252)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.0% (473)
- $3,000 or more 12.6% (297)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
76 homes here (3.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Van Buren County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+97%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Van Buren County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Van Buren County's effective rate is higher than 21% of the 99 counties in Iowa - ranking #78 of 99.
Where Van Buren 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
Below Iowa on both measures
Van Buren County's effective rate runs 15% under the Iowa median and its bill 53% 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 $1,355 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Iowa norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Van Buren County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Van Buren County | Iowa Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.2% | - | - |
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.
Van Buren County is PAR · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Iowa counties.
Van Buren County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,355 -5.0% | 1.18% |
| 2023 | $1,427 +1.9% | 1.20% |
| 2022 | $1,400 +8.5% | 1.30% |
| 2021 | $1,290 +3.3% | 1.32% |
| 2020 | $1,249 | 1.37% |
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.
Van Buren County: tax-to-income at 2.2%
Counties near Van Buren County's effective rate
On effective rate, Van Buren County sits nearest Lawrence County (IL), Muskegon County (MI), Waseca County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Scott County (KS), Graham County (AZ), Williams County (ND).
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
Van Buren County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 80 of 3,100 returns from Van Buren County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,888 - 38% 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 Iowa
Van Buren County rate FAQs
- How does Van Buren County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Van Buren County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.18% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Van Buren County, Iowa?
- The median annual property tax in Van Buren County is $1,355, an effective rate of 1.18% on a $114,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Van Buren County?
- Van Buren County, Iowa scores D (45/100) 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+ (1.87×). 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 Van Buren County?
- Property taxes in Van Buren County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.2% of the $61,161 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Van Buren County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Van Buren County climbed 8.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,249 to $1,355, 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 Van Buren County's PAR rate
Van Buren County's $1,355 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 →
Van Buren County ranks #78 of 99 Iowa counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Iowa overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Van Buren 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: $1,355/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Van Buren County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Van Buren County (PAR · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR LIGHT
Grenada County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Van Buren County at $1,355/yr; rate 1.02% vs Van Buren County 1.18%.
Pike County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Van Buren County at $1,355/yr; rate 0.83% vs Van Buren County 1.18%.
Adams County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,356/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.83% vs Van Buren County 1.18%.
Talbot County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,356/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.16% vs Van Buren County 1.18%.
Iowa county set
State ACS overview for every published Iowa county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Van Buren 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 Van Buren County (PAR · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.