Release-change ranking · ACS 2020–2024
Counties with the largest property-tax declines
McMullen County, Texas has the largest published percentage decline among counties with a 2020 median of at least $500: -67.7%, from $1,240 to $400. This is a comparison of ACS releases, not a causal explanation of a tax bill.
- -67.7%
- #1 published decline
- 2,930
- counties meeting the comparison floor
- $500
- 2020 comparison floor
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s ACS 5-Year Estimates, this is a mechanical ranking of the percentage difference between two published county estimates. A $500 baseline avoids unstable percentage swings from very small starting estimates; all counties remain in the downloadable paired-release dataset. See the methodology for source fields and limitations.
How rare a decline is
A published decline of any size is rare: just 77 of 2,930 eligible counties (2.6%) recorded one, while the typical county rose +22.7%. McMullen County, Texas leads at -67.7%.
- 77
- of 2,930 counties fell at all
- 2.6%
- of eligible counties declined
- +22.7%
- the typical county went the other way
- -3.3%
- the ceiling to make this list
Percentage difference between the same county's median in the 2020 and 2024 ACS five-year releases, among counties whose 2020 median was at least $500.
Where the cut line sits among all eligible counties
The 50th county on this list moved -3.3%. Bars cover every county clearing the $500 2020 floor
-3% Among the few that fell more affordable than 98% of 2,930 eligible counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more eligible 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
| # | County | 2020 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McMullen CountyTexas · 162 homes Read with care | $1,240 | $400 | -67.7% |
| 2 | Borden CountyTexas · 161 homes Read with care | $782 | $460 | -41.2% |
| 3 | Castro CountyTexas · 1,534 homes Read with care | $1,328 | $876 | -34.0% |
| 4 | Kent CountyTexas · 244 homes Read with care | $1,154 | $835 | -27.6% |
| 5 | Hoonah-Angoon Census AreaAlaska · 665 homes Read with care | $1,531 | $1,136 | -25.8% |
| 6 | Garfield CountyMontana · 312 homes | $1,367 | $1,052 | -23.0% |
| 7 | Wibaux CountyMontana · 334 homes | $777 | $598 | -23.0% |
| 8 | Wichita CountyKansas · 643 homes | $2,175 | $1,728 | -20.6% |
| 9 | Smith CountyMississippi · 4,889 homes | $585 | $469 | -19.8% |
| 10 | Edwards CountyTexas · 355 homes | $883 | $742 | -16.0% |
| 11 | Carroll CountyMississippi · 3,563 homes | $682 | $577 | -15.4% |
| 12 | Hooker CountyNebraska · 181 homes | $1,149 | $979 | -14.8% |
| 13 | Lunenburg CountyVirginia · 3,409 homes | $669 | $578 | -13.6% |
| 14 | Montgomery CountyArkansas · 2,993 homes | $551 | $479 | -13.1% |
| 15 | Guadalupe CountyNew Mexico · 1,112 homes | $597 | $526 | -11.9% |
| 16 | Chautauqua CountyKansas · 1,112 homes | $1,121 | $991 | -11.6% |
| 17 | Carter CountyMissouri · 1,237 homes | $766 | $677 | -11.6% |
| 18 | Griggs CountyNorth Dakota · 760 homes | $1,223 | $1,084 | -11.4% |
| 19 | Sumter CountyGeorgia · 6,220 homes | $1,689 | $1,502 | -11.1% |
| 20 | Lake CountyTennessee · 987 homes | $731 | $653 | -10.7% |
| 21 | Childress CountyTexas · 1,305 homes | $1,675 | $1,496 | -10.7% |
| 22 | Chase CountyKansas · 841 homes | $1,676 | $1,500 | -10.5% |
| 23 | Warren CountyGeorgia · 1,514 homes | $811 | $730 | -10.0% |
| 24 | Cochran CountyTexas · 596 homes | $646 | $583 | -9.8% |
| 25 | Yell CountyArkansas · 5,622 homes | $706 | $640 | -9.3% |
| 26 | Treutlen CountyGeorgia · 1,477 homes | $778 | $708 | -9.0% |
| 27 | Culberson CountyTexas · 609 homes | $844 | $769 | -8.9% |
| 28 | Real CountyTexas · 881 homes | $1,323 | $1,207 | -8.8% |
| 29 | Grant CountyNebraska · 201 homes | $1,012 | $929 | -8.2% |
| 30 | Wallace CountyKansas · 448 homes | $1,524 | $1,405 | -7.8% |
| 31 | Twiggs CountyGeorgia · 2,546 homes | $864 | $807 | -6.6% |
| 32 | Jackson CountyFlorida · 13,117 homes | $651 | $609 | -6.5% |
| 33 | Donley CountyTexas · 883 homes | $1,191 | $1,117 | -6.2% |
| 34 | Bolivar CountyMississippi · 7,464 homes | $1,007 | $950 | -5.7% |
| 35 | Hyde CountyNorth Carolina · 1,395 homes | $1,032 | $975 | -5.5% |
| 36 | Saguache CountyColorado · 2,613 homes | $730 | $690 | -5.5% |
| 37 | Bland CountyVirginia · 2,055 homes | $893 | $846 | -5.3% |
| 38 | Calhoun CountyMississippi · 4,039 homes | $632 | $600 | -5.1% |
| 39 | Lawrence CountyMississippi · 3,680 homes | $710 | $674 | -5.1% |
| 40 | Clay CountyIllinois · 4,211 homes | $1,463 | $1,392 | -4.9% |
| 41 | Bristol Bay BoroughAlaska · 156 homes | $2,145 | $2,045 | -4.7% |
| 42 | Thomas CountyNebraska · 207 homes | $1,430 | $1,364 | -4.6% |
| 43 | Mathews CountyVirginia · 3,351 homes | $1,621 | $1,547 | -4.6% |
| 44 | Hickman CountyKentucky · 1,226 homes | $816 | $779 | -4.5% |
| 45 | Wayne CountyMississippi · 6,553 homes | $605 | $578 | -4.5% |
| 46 | Jenkins CountyGeorgia · 2,645 homes | $830 | $797 | -4.0% |
| 47 | Boyd CountyNebraska · 637 homes | $1,189 | $1,142 | -4.0% |
| 48 | Essex CountyVirginia · 3,190 homes | $1,398 | $1,348 | -3.6% |
| 49 | Carroll CountyMissouri · 2,533 homes | $958 | $924 | -3.5% |
| 50 | Pemiscot CountyMissouri · 3,520 homes | $957 | $925 | -3.3% |
Read with care: 5 of these 50 counties moved by more than 50%, or by more than 25% on fewer than 5,000 owner-occupied homes, between the 2020 and 2024 ACS releases. County pages treat a move that size as likely survey movement rather than a confirmed tax event, so the number of owner-occupied homes behind each estimate is shown under each county name (for example, 760 homes), and the affected rows are marked.
How to read this ranking
A decline in a published median estimate does not establish why it changed. Open a county profile for its five-year series and current context, or inspect all paired records in the county release-comparison dataset.
Frequently asked questions
What does a decline in this ranking mean?
Why exclude counties below $500 in the starting release?
Are these current property tax bills?
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. Mechanical sort by percentage change in the same county-level ACS median property-tax estimate between 2020 and 2024; not a policy, assessment, exemption, or individual-bill finding. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.