Indiana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Wayne County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Wayne County pays $1,137 a year, an effective rate of 0.81%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,137
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.81%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -43%
- vs U.S. average
- #10 of 92
- rank in IN
The verdict
Homeowners in Wayne County pay a median $1,137 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.81%, more affordable than 49% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,137
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.81%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1591 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -43%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($140,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Indiana. Population: 66,397. Owner-occupied homes: 18,673.
The median annual property tax in Wayne County is $1,137, which is 30% lower than the Indiana state average and 43% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.81% on a median home value of $140,200. Property taxes represent 2.0% of the median household income in this county.
Wayne County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Wayne County's 0.81% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 49%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Wayne County pay a median annual property tax of $1,137, well below the national median and well below the Indiana state median. On a $140,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.81% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Indiana counties by effective rate
Wayne County ranks #10 of 92 counties in Indiana by effective rate (89% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Wayne County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $55,692 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Wayne 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 10.6% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 57% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 36.9%, the median bill rose 22.4% to $1,137: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 $929 to $1,137, a gain of 22%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 5,927 of 18,673 owner-occupied homes (31.7%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Incomes here are in the lowest quarter nationally while the rate sits just below the middle, and the median bill lands at 2.0% of median household income. The rate reads as unremarkable in a national ranking; the earnings behind it are not, and the ratio above is where the two meet.
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 Wayne County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Wayne County homeowners, 5,927 of 18,673 owner-occupied homes (31.7%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 30.5% (5,695)
- $800 to $1,499 31.7% (5,927)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.8% (2,398)
- $2,000 to $2,999 10.0% (1,868)
- $3,000 or more 8.8% (1,635)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,150 homes here (6.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Indiana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Wayne County, mortgaged homeowners pay 26% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Wayne County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Wayne County's effective rate is higher than 89% of the 92 counties in Indiana - ranking #10 of 92.
Where Wayne County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.81% more affordable than 49% 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
Same rate as Indiana, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 9% of the Indiana median, yet the median bill runs 30% below it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to cheaper housing produces $1,137 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Wayne County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Wayne County | Indiana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.0% | - | - |
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.
Wayne County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Indiana counties.
Wayne County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,137 +3.3% | 0.81% |
| 2023 | $1,101 +9.0% | 0.87% |
| 2022 | $1,010 +6.5% | 0.85% |
| 2021 | $948 +2.0% | 0.90% |
| 2020 | $929 | 0.91% |
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.
Wayne County: tax-to-income at 2.0%
Counties near Wayne County's effective rate
On effective rate, Wayne County sits nearest Stephens County (GA), Lowndes County (GA), Miami-Dade County (FL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Gratiot County (MI), Clay County (KS), Bristol County (MA).
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
Wayne County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 630 of 30,140 returns from Wayne County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,084 - 32% of those reporters sat in the $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 Indiana
Wayne County rate FAQs
- How does Wayne County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Wayne County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.81% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Wayne County, Indiana?
- The median annual property tax in Wayne County is $1,137, an effective rate of 0.81% on a $140,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Wayne County?
- Wayne County, Indiana scores C+ (61/100) 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 bill size at B ($1,137/yr). 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 Wayne County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Wayne County jumped 22.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $929 to $1,137, 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 Wayne County?
- Property taxes in Wayne County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $55,692 median household income.
What to do with Wayne County's UNDER rate
Wayne County's $1,137 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 →
Wayne County ranks #10 of 92 Indiana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Indiana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Wayne County's UNDER 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: 0.81%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,137/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Wayne County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Wayne County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Polk County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Wayne County at $1,137/yr; rate 0.55% vs Wayne County 0.81%.
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,136/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.43% vs Wayne County 0.81%.
Richmond County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,138/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.89% vs Wayne County 0.81%.
Smith County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,136/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.47% vs Wayne County 0.81%.
Indiana county set
State ACS overview for every published Indiana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Wayne County stamps UNDER · 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 Wayne County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.