Indiana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Wells County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Wells County pays $1,065 a year, an effective rate of 0.54%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,065
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.54%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -47%
- vs U.S. average
- #80 of 92
- rank in IN
The verdict
Homeowners in Wells County pay a median $1,065 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.54%, more affordable than 79% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,065
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.54%
- Effective rate on median home
- #659 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -47%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($197,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Indiana. Population: 28,420. Owner-occupied homes: 8,731.
The median annual property tax in Wells County is $1,065, which is 34% lower than the Indiana state average and 47% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.54% on a median home value of $197,600. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Wells County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Wells County's 0.54% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 79%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Wells County pay a median annual property tax of $1,065, well below the national median and well below the Indiana state median. On a $197,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.54% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Indiana counties by effective rate
Wells County ranks #80 of 92 counties in Indiana by effective rate (13% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Wells County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $71,957 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 $920 to $1,065. 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 Wells 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 54% from $690 to $1,065. 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: 2,975 of 8,731 owner-occupied homes (34.1%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 1.5% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
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 Wells County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Wells County homeowners, 2,975 of 8,731 owner-occupied homes (34.1%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 34.1% (2,975)
- $800 to $1,499 31.8% (2,779)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.7% (1,024)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.6% (1,097)
- $3,000 or more 6.1% (532)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
324 homes here (3.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Indiana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Wells County, mortgaged homeowners pay 25% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Wells County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Wells County's effective rate is higher than 13% of the 92 counties in Indiana - ranking #80 of 92.
Where Wells County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.54% Among the most affordable more affordable than 79% 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 Wells County moved from $690 in the 2020 release to $1,065 in 2024, a change of about 54%. 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.
Wells County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Wells County | Indiana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low 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.
Wells County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Indiana counties.
Wells County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,065 +15.8% | 0.54% |
| 2023 | $920 +15.0% | 0.51% |
| 2022 | $800 +11.7% | 0.50% |
| 2021 | $716 +3.8% | 0.51% |
| 2020 | $690 | 0.52% |
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.
Wells County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Wells County's effective rate
On effective rate, Wells County sits nearest Elmore County (ID), Clearwater County (ID), Holmes County (FL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Uvalde County (TX), McDowell County (WV), Candler County (GA).
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
Wells County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 440 of 13,870 returns from Wells County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,911 - 39% 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
Wells County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Wells County?
- Wells County, Indiana scores B (74/100) 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.
- How does Wells County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Wells County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.54% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Wells County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Wells County is recorded at $1,065 in the 2024 5-year release against $690 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 8,731 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 is the average property tax in Wells County, Indiana?
- The median annual property tax in Wells County is $1,065, an effective rate of 0.54% on a $197,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Wells County?
- Property taxes in Wells County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $71,957 median household income.
What to do with Wells County's QUIET rate
Wells County's $1,065 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 Wells County's $71,957 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Wells 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: 0.54%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,065/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Wells County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Wells County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Ballard County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Wells County at $1,065/yr; rate 0.73% vs Wells County 0.54%.
Washington County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Wells County at $1,065/yr; rate 0.50% vs Wells County 0.54%.
Cherokee County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,064/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.46% vs Wells County 0.54%.
Craig County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,064/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.56% vs Wells County 0.54%.
Indiana county set
State ACS overview for every published Indiana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Wells 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 Wells County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.