Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Yellowstone County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Yellowstone County pays $2,832 a year, an effective rate of 0.81%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,832
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.81%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +42%
- vs U.S. average
- #17 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Yellowstone County pay a median $2,832 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.81%, more affordable than 49% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,832
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.81%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1591 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +42%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($349,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 168,957. Owner-occupied homes: 48,659.
The median annual property tax in Yellowstone County is $2,832, which is 5% higher than the Montana state average and 42% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.81% on a median home value of $349,500. Property taxes represent 3.7% of the median household income in this county.
Yellowstone County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Yellowstone 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 above the national median
Homeowners in Yellowstone County pay a median annual property tax of $2,832, well above the national median and modestly above the Montana state median. On a $349,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.81% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Montana counties by effective rate
Yellowstone County ranks #17 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (70% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Yellowstone County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.7% of the $76,570 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Yellowstone 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
Yellowstone County's effective rate fell 13.6% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 46.4%, leaving the median bill 26.5% higher at $2,832. That rate move is larger than the one in 57% 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 27% from $2,238 to $2,832. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 21,193 of 48,659 owner-occupied homes (43.6%) 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.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 3.7% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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 Yellowstone County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Yellowstone County homeowners, 21,193 of 48,659 owner-occupied homes (43.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 8.4% (4,078)
- $800 to $1,499 8.2% (3,976)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.5% (4,148)
- $2,000 to $2,999 27.9% (13,553)
- $3,000 or more 43.6% (21,193)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,711 homes here (3.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Yellowstone County pay about the same bill, a 4% gap.
Yellowstone County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Yellowstone County's effective rate is higher than 70% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #17 of 56.
Where Yellowstone 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Yellowstone County moved from $2,238 in the 2020 release to $2,832 in 2024, a change of about 27%. 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.
Yellowstone County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Yellowstone County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.7% | - | - |
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.
Yellowstone County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Yellowstone County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,832 +6.1% | 0.81% |
| 2023 | $2,669 +4.4% | 0.84% |
| 2022 | $2,556 +7.7% | 0.88% |
| 2021 | $2,373 +6.0% | 0.94% |
| 2020 | $2,238 | 0.94% |
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.
Yellowstone County: tax-to-income at 3.7%
Counties near Yellowstone County's effective rate
On effective rate, Yellowstone County sits nearest Mississippi County (MO), Livingston County (MO), Henry County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Saginaw County (MI), Grundy County (IL), Putnam County (TN).
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
Yellowstone County: only 8% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 6,360 of 83,370 returns from Yellowstone County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,435 - 33% 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 Montana
Yellowstone County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Yellowstone County?
- Yellowstone County, Montana scores F (37/100) 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+ (+$98). 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 Yellowstone County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Yellowstone County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.81% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Yellowstone County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Yellowstone County is $2,832, an effective rate of 0.81% on a $349,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Yellowstone County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Yellowstone County jumped 26.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,238 to $2,832, 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 Yellowstone County?
- Property taxes in Yellowstone County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.7% of the $76,570 median household income.
What to do with Yellowstone County's UNDER rate
Yellowstone County's $2,832 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Yellowstone County ranks #17 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Yellowstone 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: $2,832/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Yellowstone County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Yellowstone County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Larimer County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Yellowstone County at $2,832/yr; rate 0.50% vs Yellowstone County 0.81%.
Erie County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,830/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.60% vs Yellowstone County 0.81%.
Lincoln County, ME
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,828/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.85% vs Yellowstone County 0.81%.
Salt Lake County, UT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,836/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.54% vs Yellowstone County 0.81%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Yellowstone County stamps UNDER · 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 Yellowstone County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.