Property Tax in Kendall County, Illinois
Homeowners in Kendall County, Illinois pay a median of $7,556 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $298,900. Those are the Census Bureau's published medians for the county (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023) — the typical bill and the typical home value for owner-occupied households.
What the Kendall County numbers mean
The median is the midpoint of the county's actual bills: half of Kendall County homeowners pay more than $7,556 a year and half pay less. The exact bill for any one home depends on its assessed value, exemptions, and which school, municipal and special districts cover it.
Set against the median home value of $298,900, the median bill works out to a derived effective rate of 2.53%. That rate is an estimate computed from the two medians — no county publishes a rate calculated this way — but it adjusts for home prices, which makes comparisons between counties more meaningful.
Kendall County by the numbers
| Measure | Kendall County | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $7,556 | $5,189 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $298,900 | $250,500 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 2.53% | 2.07% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $630 | $432 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Kendall County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Illinois: #3 of 102 counties
- Median home value rank in Illinois: #5 of 102
- Population rank in Illinois: #15 of 102 (135,053 residents)
- Population density rank: #8 of 102 (422 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Illinois: #89 of 102 (320 sq mi, 0.6% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $630; per $1,000 of home value: $2.53
How Kendall County compares
The median tax bill in Kendall County is about 46% higher than the state median ($5,189 for Illinois) and about 154% higher than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #3 out of 102 Illinois counties with published Census data — 2 counties in the state have a higher median bill.
Comparisons cut both ways: a county can have a modest rate but high bills because homes are expensive, or a high rate but modest bills because homes are cheaper. Kendall County's derived rate of 2.53% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Kendall County: the median bill works out to about $630 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $2,528 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 135,053 people — the #15 most populous county in Illinois, spread over 320 square miles, a density of about 422 people per square mile. Its median home value, $298,900, ranks #5 among the state's 102 counties with data.
Nationally, Kendall County's median bill of $7,556 ranks #35 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 1% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 1.1% of Illinois's population, its median home value is about 19% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 25.28% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Kendall County to the most expensive county, Lake County ($8,743), is $1,187 a year.
Counties nearest Kendall County in the Illinois ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, IL | $8,743 | $326,600 | 2.68% |
| DuPage County, IL | $7,833 | $374,100 | 2.09% |
| Kane County, IL | $7,230 | $303,000 | 2.39% |
| McHenry County, IL | $7,153 | $286,900 | 2.49% |
Kendall County and its population peers
Counties of a similar size can tax very differently. The table below shows the counties closest to Kendall County in population across the United States, with their median bills and home values. Within the group of 9, Kendall County ($7,556) ranks the highest by median tax paid.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napa County, CA | 136,070 | $5,840 | $838,800 | 0.70% |
| Clark County, OH | 135,445 | $1,943 | $155,900 | 1.25% |
| Humboldt County, CA | 135,418 | $2,731 | $418,800 | 0.65% |
| Tangipahoa Parish, LA | 135,218 | $887 | $204,600 | 0.43% |
| Washington County, TN | 134,693 | $1,278 | $231,700 | 0.55% |
| Calhoun County, MI | 133,846 | $2,269 | $151,500 | 1.50% |
| Pickens County, SC | 132,604 | $821 | $216,000 | 0.38% |
| Cambria County, PA | 132,355 | $1,487 | $115,900 | 1.28% |
The closest population match is Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana (135,218 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $887 on a median home value of $204,600 — $6,669 more than Kendall County pays.
Kendall County's nearest population neighbours within Illinois are McLean County (170,882 residents, median tax $4,503 on a median value of $198,300); Rock Island County (142,995 residents, median tax $3,372 on a median value of $144,700); Tazewell County (130,555 residents, median tax $3,481 on a median value of $164,500); LaSalle County (109,049 residents, median tax $3,336 on a median value of $154,900). Comparing them is a reminder that even inside one state's rules, the bill follows local home values and local district rates more than anything decided at the state level.
How the tax is worked out
Think of the final bill as three ingredients: the assessed value of the property, the exemptions subtracted from it, and the combined rate of every district the property sits in. Kendall County's medians imply a derived rate of 2.53%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $10,112 a year, or around $843 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Illustrative bills in Kendall County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 2.53% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Kendall County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 2.07% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $3,792 | $316 |
| $250,000 | $6,320 | $527 |
| $350,000 | $8,848 | $737 |
| $500,000 | $12,640 | $1,053 |
| $750,000 | $18,960 | $1,580 |
Illustration only: real bills are computed from the assessed value, exemptions, and the combined rates of the property's actual taxing districts.
Checking your assessment in Kendall 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 Kendall 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 Kendall County, Illinois?
The median real estate tax paid in Kendall County, Illinois is $7,556 per year, on a median home value of $298,900 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Kendall County, Illinois?
On a derived basis, 2.53%: the county's median tax bill of $7,556 divided by its median home value of $298,900. Because it is calculated from two survey medians, read it as a comparison estimate rather than an official rate.
How does Kendall County compare with the rest of Illinois?
Kendall County ranks #3 of 102 Illinois counties with published data by median taxes paid. Its median bill of $7,556 is about 46% higher than the Illinois median of $5,189.
How are property taxes calculated in Kendall County, Illinois?
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 Kendall County is $7,556 of tax on a $298,900 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Kendall County, Illinois?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Kendall 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.