Minnesota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Wadena County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Wadena County pays $1,806 a year, an effective rate of 1.04%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,806
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.04%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -9%
- vs U.S. average
- #27 of 87
- rank in MN
The verdict
Homeowners in Wadena County pay a median $1,806 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.04%, more affordable than 32% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,806
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.04%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2125 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -9%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($173,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Minnesota. Population: 14,256. Owner-occupied homes: 4,474.
The median annual property tax in Wadena County is $1,806, which is 46% lower than the Minnesota state average and 9% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.04% on a median home value of $173,000. Property taxes represent 2.9% of the median household income in this county.
Wadena County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Wadena County's 1.04% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 32%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Minnesota median
Homeowners in Wadena County pay a median annual property tax of $1,806, modestly below the national median and well below the Minnesota state median. On a $173,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.04% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Minnesota counties by effective rate
Wadena County ranks #27 of 87 counties in Minnesota by effective rate (69% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The latest release held the bill roughly steady
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has held roughly steady, up 1.9%, from $1,773 to $1,806. 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 Wadena County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.9% of the $61,467 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Wadena 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 26% from $1,430 to $1,806. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 1,220 of 4,474 owner-occupied homes (27.3%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 2.9% 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 Wadena County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Wadena County homeowners, 1,220 of 4,474 owner-occupied homes (27.3%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 10.6% (473)
- $800 to $1,499 27.3% (1,220)
- $1,500 to $1,999 18.7% (837)
- $2,000 to $2,999 23.1% (1,032)
- $3,000 or more 19.0% (849)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
63 homes here (1.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Minnesota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Wadena County, mortgaged homeowners actually pay 12% less than those without a mortgage, a mild inversion from the national norm worth cross-checking against the historical table above.
Wadena County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Wadena County's effective rate is higher than 69% of the 87 counties in Minnesota - ranking #27 of 87.
Where Wadena County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.04% more affordable than 32% 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 Wadena County moved from $1,430 in the 2020 release to $1,806 in 2024, a change of about 26%. 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.
Wadena County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Wadena County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.9% | - | - |
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.
Wadena County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Minnesota counties.
Wadena County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,806 +1.9% | 1.04% |
| 2023 | $1,773 +3.7% | 1.04% |
| 2022 | $1,710 +7.5% | 1.05% |
| 2021 | $1,590 +11.2% | 1.11% |
| 2020 | $1,430 | 1.06% |
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.
Wadena County: tax-to-income at 2.9%
Counties near Wadena County's effective rate
On effective rate, Wadena County sits nearest Manistee County (MI), Essex County (MA), Washington County (ME).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Mineral County (MT), Hancock County (OH), Webster County (IA).
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
Wadena County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 180 of 6,580 returns from Wadena County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,889 - 39% 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 Minnesota
Wadena County rate FAQs
- How does Wadena County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Wadena County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.04% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Wadena County, Minnesota?
- The median annual property tax in Wadena County is $1,806, an effective rate of 1.04% on a $173,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Wadena County?
- Wadena County, Minnesota scores D (48/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-232). 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 Wadena County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Wadena County is recorded at $1,806 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,430 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 4,474 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Wadena County?
- Property taxes in Wadena County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.9% of the $61,467 median household income.
What to do with Wadena County's PAR rate
Inside Minnesota, Wadena County's $1,806 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Minnesota overview →
Wadena County ranks #27 of 87 Minnesota counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Minnesota overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Wadena 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: 1.04%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,806/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Wadena County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Wadena County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Crawford County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Wadena County at $1,806/yr; rate 1.49% vs Wadena County 1.04%.
Hancock County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Wadena County at $1,806/yr; rate 0.66% vs Wadena County 1.04%.
Marion County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Wadena County at $1,806/yr; rate 0.74% vs Wadena County 1.04%.
Rogers County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Wadena County at $1,806/yr; rate 0.75% vs Wadena County 1.04%.
Minnesota county set
State ACS overview for every published Minnesota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Wadena 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 Wadena County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.