Property Tax in Denver County, Colorado
In Denver County, Colorado, the typical homeowner pays $2,596 a year in property taxes on a home worth a median of $586,700. The figures on this page are the Census Bureau's published medians (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023), shown exactly as released.
What the Denver County numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $2,596 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Denver County, and $586,700 is the middle home value. Neither figure describes a specific property — together they describe the typical homeowner's situation in the county.
The derived effective rate for Denver County is 0.44% (median tax ÷ median value). Treat it as an estimate for comparison only: it comes from survey medians of different households, not from the county's rate schedule.
Denver County by the numbers
| Measure | Denver County | Colorado | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $2,596 | $2,448 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $586,700 | $502,200 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.44% | 0.49% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $216 | $204 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Denver County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Colorado: #12 of 64 counties
- Median home value rank in Colorado: #14 of 64
- Population rank in Colorado: #2 of 64 (713,734 residents)
- Population density rank: #1 of 64 (4,663 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Colorado: #62 of 64 (153 sq mi, 0.1% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $216; per $1,000 of home value: $0.44
How Denver County compares
Of the 64 Colorado counties with published data, 11 have a higher median property tax bill than Denver County's $2,596, putting the county at #12 in the state. Its bill is about 6% higher than the state median of $2,448 and about 13% lower than the national median of $2,969.
Rates and values pull in opposite directions: an expensive housing market can produce big bills at ordinary rates. Here the derived rate is 0.44%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #14 within Colorado.
Some extra context for Denver County: the median bill works out to about $216 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $442 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 713,734 people — the #2 most populous county in Colorado, spread over 153 square miles, a density of about 4,663 people per square mile. Its median home value, $586,700, ranks #14 among the state's 64 counties with data.
Nationally, Denver County's median bill of $2,596 ranks #627 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 20% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 12.3% of Colorado's population, its median home value is about 17% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 4.42% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Denver County to the most expensive county, Pitkin County ($4,450), is $1,854 a year.
Counties nearest Denver County in the Colorado ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larimer County, CO | $2,662 | $532,200 | 0.50% |
| Summit County, CO | $2,641 | $850,700 | 0.31% |
| Routt County, CO | $2,490 | $756,200 | 0.33% |
| Weld County, CO | $2,242 | $444,500 | 0.50% |
How the tax is worked out
The bill is built in stages. First the assessor puts a market value on the property. Exemptions — a homestead exemption above all — then reduce the taxable amount. Finally the combined local rate is applied. To see the scale: at the county's derived rate of 0.44%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $442 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $1,768. Real bills use the official assessment and district rates, not this derived figure, so treat the example as a sense of scale only.
Checking your assessment in Denver County
Believe your assessment is too high? The practical order of attack is: obtain your record card and audit it line by line; collect comparable recent sales in Denver County; ask the assessor's office to correct anything plainly wrong; and, if the value still seems off, lodge a formal appeal ahead of the deadline printed on your assessment notice. Windows are short — often 30 to 90 days — and late appeals are usually rejected outright, however strong the case.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Denver County, Colorado?
The median real estate tax paid in Denver County, Colorado is $2,596 per year, on a median home value of $586,700 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Denver County, Colorado?
Dividing Denver County's median tax bill ($2,596) by its median home value ($586,700) gives a derived effective rate of 0.44%. This is an estimate computed from two Census survey medians — it is not the county's official tax rate.
How does Denver County compare with the rest of Colorado?
By median taxes paid, Denver County stands at #12 among the 64 Colorado counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $2,596 median bill is about 6% higher than the state median ($2,448), and 11 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Denver County, Colorado?
Three steps produce the bill: an assessment of market value by the local assessor, a reduction for exemptions you qualify for (a homestead exemption is the common one), and multiplication by the combined rates of the county, municipality, school district and any special districts covering the property. The median result in Denver County is $2,596 of tax on a $586,700 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Denver County, Colorado?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Denver County assessor, verify its details, and compare the assessed value against similar homes that sold recently. If the value still seems too high, submit a formal appeal to the board named on your notice before the stated deadline — usually a 30-to-90-day window.