Ohio · County property tax · ACS 2024
Wayne County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Wayne County pays $2,602 a year, an effective rate of 1.17%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,602
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.17%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +31%
- vs U.S. average
- #30 of 88
- rank in OH
The verdict
Homeowners in Wayne County pay a median $2,602 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.17%, more affordable than 25% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,602
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.17%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2366 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +31%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($222,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Ohio. Population: 116,588. Owner-occupied homes: 33,965.
The median annual property tax in Wayne County is $2,602, which is 8% lower than the Ohio state average and 31% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.17% on a median home value of $222,100. Property taxes represent 3.5% 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 1.17% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 25%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Wayne County pay a median annual property tax of $2,602, well above the national median and modestly below the Ohio state median. On a $222,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.17% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Ohio counties by effective rate
Wayne County ranks #30 of 88 counties in Ohio by effective rate (66% 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 3.5% of the $73,574 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Wayne County's effective rate fell 12.3% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 42.1%, leaving the median bill 24.6% higher at $2,602. That rate move is larger than the one in 50% 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $2,088 to $2,602, a gain of 25%. 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: 12,939 of 33,965 owner-occupied homes (38.1%) 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.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 3.5% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.
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, 12,939 of 33,965 owner-occupied homes (38.1%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 6.1% (2,056)
- $800 to $1,499 13.8% (4,704)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.7% (4,322)
- $2,000 to $2,999 26.9% (9,135)
- $3,000 or more 38.1% (12,939)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
809 homes here (2.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Ohio handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Wayne County pay about the same bill, a 5% gap.
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 66% of the 88 counties in Ohio - ranking #30 of 88.
Where Wayne County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.17% more affordable than 25% 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 Wayne County moved from $2,088 in the 2020 release to $2,602 in 2024, a change of about 25%. 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.
Wayne County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Wayne County | Ohio Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.5% | - | - |
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.
Wayne County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Ohio counties.
Wayne County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,602 +5.9% | 1.17% |
| 2023 | $2,457 +3.7% | 1.20% |
| 2022 | $2,369 +6.3% | 1.25% |
| 2021 | $2,229 +6.8% | 1.36% |
| 2020 | $2,088 | 1.34% |
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 3.5%
Counties near Wayne County's effective rate
On effective rate, Wayne County sits nearest Nuckolls County (NE), Hitchcock County (NE), Carlton County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Forsyth County (NC), Ashe County (NC), Grafton County (NH).
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 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,770 of 54,160 returns from Wayne County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,677 - 31% 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 Ohio
Wayne County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Wayne County?
- Wayne County, Ohio 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 mortgage premium at B (+$129). 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 Wayne County, Ohio?
- The median annual property tax in Wayne County is $2,602, an effective rate of 1.17% on a $222,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Wayne County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Wayne County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.17% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Wayne County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Wayne County jumped 24.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,088 to $2,602, 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 3.5% of the $73,574 median household income.
What to do with Wayne County's PAR rate
Wayne County's $2,602 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Wayne County ranks #30 of 88 Ohio counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Ohio overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Wayne 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: 1.17%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,602/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 (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Blue Earth County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,601/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.98% vs Wayne County 1.17%.
Waseca County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,603/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.18% vs Wayne County 1.17%.
Jefferson County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,600/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.53% vs Wayne County 1.17%.
Lynn County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,604/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.77% vs Wayne County 1.17%.
Ohio county set
State ACS overview for every published Ohio county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Wayne 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 Wayne County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.