South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Walworth County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Walworth County pays $1,792 a year, an effective rate of 1.31%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,792
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.31%
- Effective rate · High rate
- -10%
- vs U.S. average
- #7 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Walworth County pay a median $1,792 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.31%, more affordable than 18% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,792
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.31%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2558 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -10%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($136,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 5,271. Owner-occupied homes: 1,841.
The median annual property tax in Walworth County is $1,792, which is 34% lower than the South Dakota state average and 10% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.31% on a median home value of $136,600. Property taxes represent 2.8% of the median household income in this county.
Walworth County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Walworth County's 1.31% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 18%).
Decision signal 2
Low among South Dakota counties by effective rate
Walworth County ranks #7 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (89% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the South Dakota median
Homeowners in Walworth County pay a median annual property tax of $1,792, notably lower than the national median and well below the South Dakota state median. On a $136,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.31% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Walworth County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.8% of the $65,026 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Walworth 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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Walworth County rose 41.3%, from $96,700 to $136,600. The effective rate fell 21.5% over the same span, a steeper move than in 87% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 11.0%, to $1,792. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 $1,615 to $1,792, a gain of 11%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 576 of 1,841 owner-occupied homes (31.3%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 2.8% 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 Walworth County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Walworth County homeowners, 576 of 1,841 owner-occupied homes (31.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 26.1% (480)
- $800 to $1,499 15.6% (287)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.4% (228)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.4% (229)
- $3,000 or more 31.3% (576)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
41 homes here (2.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Walworth County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+177%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Walworth County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Walworth County's effective rate is higher than 89% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #7 of 66.
Where Walworth County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.31% more affordable than 18% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Walworth County taxes property at 1.31%, about 24% above the South Dakota average, yet its median bill of $1,792 lands roughly 34% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Walworth County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Walworth County | South Dakota 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 | 2.8% | - | - |
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.
Walworth County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Walworth County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $136,600 median home carries a $1,792 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $179 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for South Dakota.
Walworth County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,792 -4.0% | 1.31% |
| 2023 | $1,866 +5.1% | 1.44% |
| 2022 | $1,775 +10.7% | 1.53% |
| 2021 | $1,604 -0.7% | 1.59% |
| 2020 | $1,615 | 1.67% |
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.
Walworth County: tax-to-income at 2.8%
Counties near Walworth County's effective rate
On effective rate, Walworth County sits nearest Wyoming County (PA), Lycoming County (PA), Bucks County (PA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Orleans County (NY), Marion County (SC), Mecklenburg County (VA).
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
Walworth County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 40 of 2,570 returns from Walworth County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,575 - 100% 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 South Dakota
Walworth County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Walworth County?
- Walworth County, South Dakota scores F (34/100) 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- (2.10×). 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 is the average property tax in Walworth County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Walworth County is $1,792, an effective rate of 1.31% on a $136,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Walworth County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Walworth County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.31% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Walworth County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Walworth County climbed 11.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,615 to $1,792, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Walworth County?
- Property taxes in Walworth County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.8% of the $65,026 median household income.
What to do with Walworth County's STEEP rate
Inside South Dakota, Walworth County's $1,792 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. South Dakota overview →
Walworth County ranks #7 of 66 South Dakota counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. South Dakota overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Walworth County's STEEP 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: 1.31%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,792/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Walworth County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Walworth County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Rusk County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,793/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.05% vs Walworth County 1.31%.
Northumberland County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,794/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.10% vs Walworth County 1.31%.
Bourbon County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,789/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.57% vs Walworth County 1.31%.
Dearborn County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,789/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.74% vs Walworth County 1.31%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Walworth County stamps STEEP · MID - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 Walworth County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.