Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Ward County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Ward County pays $965 a year, an effective rate of 0.64%, far below the U.S. average.
- $965
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.64%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -52%
- vs U.S. average
- #246 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Ward County pay a median $965 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.64%, more affordable than 67% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $965
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.64%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1040 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -52%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($150,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 11,144. Owner-occupied homes: 3,445.
The median annual property tax in Ward County is $965, which is 77% lower than the Texas state average and 52% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.64% on a median home value of $150,700. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Ward County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Ward County's 0.64% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 67%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Ward County pay a median annual property tax of $965, far below the national median and far below the Texas state median. On a $150,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.64% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Texas counties by effective rate
Ward County ranks #246 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (2% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Ward County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $65,952 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 15.8%, from $833 to $965. 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 Ward 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 143% from $397 to $965. 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: 1,495 of 3,445 owner-occupied homes (43.4%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Above-median earnings meet a slightly-below-median rate, and the median bill amounts to 1.5% of median household income. That is the comfortable middle of this dataset, and comfortable middles are easy to overlook when only rankings get published.
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 Ward County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Ward County homeowners, 1,495 of 3,445 owner-occupied homes (43.4%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 43.4% (1,495)
- $800 to $1,499 21.5% (742)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.2% (318)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.5% (189)
- $3,000 or more 15.9% (549)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
152 homes here (4.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Ward County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+108%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Ward County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Ward County's effective rate is higher than 2% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #246 of 250.
Where Ward County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.64% Among the most affordable more affordable than 67% 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 Ward County moved from $397 in the 2020 release to $965 in 2024, a change of about 143%. 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.
Ward County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Ward County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.5% | - | - |
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.
Ward County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Texas counties.
Ward County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $965 +15.8% | 0.64% |
| 2023 | $833 +48.2% | 0.60% |
| 2022 | $562 +35.1% | 0.48% |
| 2021 | $416 +4.8% | 0.40% |
| 2020 | $397 | 0.40% |
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.
Ward County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Ward County's effective rate
On effective rate, Ward County sits nearest Crook County (OR), Harper County (OK), Bryan County (OK).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lincoln County (CO), San Miguel County (CO), De Soto Parish (LA).
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
Ward County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 100 of 5,090 returns from Ward County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,430 - 50% 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 Texas
Ward County rate FAQs
- Are property taxes increasing in Ward County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Ward County is recorded at $965 in the 2024 5-year release against $397 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 3,445 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.
- How does Ward County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Ward County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.64% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Ward County, Texas?
- The median annual property tax in Ward County is $965, an effective rate of 0.64% on a $150,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Ward County?
- Ward County, Texas 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 income room at A (1.5%). 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 Ward County?
- Property taxes in Ward County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $65,952 median household income.
What to do with Ward County's QUIET rate
Ward County's $965 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 1.5% of Ward County's $65,952 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Ward County's QUIET 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: 0.64%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $965/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Ward County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Ward County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Hart County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Ward County at $965/yr; rate 0.66% vs Ward County 0.64%.
Madison County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Ward County at $965/yr; rate 0.83% vs Ward County 0.64%.
Greenwood County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $964/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.53% vs Ward County 0.64%.
Jones County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $964/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.74% vs Ward County 0.64%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Ward County stamps QUIET · 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 Ward County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.