Property Tax in Delaware County, Indiana
Homeowners in Delaware County, Indiana pay a median of $997 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $127,600. 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 Delaware County numbers mean
The median is the midpoint of the county's actual bills: half of Delaware County homeowners pay more than $997 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 $127,600, the median bill works out to a derived effective rate of 0.78%. 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.
The key figures for Delaware County
| Measure | Delaware County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $997 |
| Median home value | $127,600 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.78% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $83 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $781 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $3,124 |
For context, the Indiana medians are $1,496 of tax on $201,600 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Delaware County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Indiana: #60 of 92 counties
- Median home value rank in Indiana: #80 of 92
- Population rank in Indiana: #16 of 92 (112,109 residents)
- Population density rank: #16 of 92 (286 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Indiana: #51 of 92 (392 sq mi, 1.1% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $83; per $1,000 of home value: $0.78
How Delaware County compares
Of the 92 Indiana counties with published data, 59 have a higher median property tax bill than Delaware County's $997, putting the county at #60 in the state. Its bill is about 33% lower than the state median of $1,496 and about 66% 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 0.78%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #80 within Indiana.
Some extra context for Delaware County: the median bill works out to about $83 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $781 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 112,109 people — the #16 most populous county in Indiana, spread over 392 square miles, a density of about 286 people per square mile. Its median home value, $127,600, ranks #80 among the state's 92 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 2366 record a higher median tax bill than Delaware County — it sits in the top 76% nationally. The county holds roughly 1.6% of Indiana's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $127,600 versus $201,600), and a decade at the derived rate of 0.78% adds up to about 7.81% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Clay County, medians $589 — $408 less than Delaware County per year.
Counties nearest Delaware County in the Indiana ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rush County, IN | $1,013 | $155,900 | 0.65% |
| Jasper County, IN | $998 | $204,400 | 0.49% |
| Lawrence County, IN | $994 | $164,500 | 0.60% |
| Clinton County, IN | $979 | $157,300 | 0.62% |
Delaware County and its population peers
For a like-for-like sense of scale, compare Delaware County with its national population peers: the counties nearest to its 112,109 residents, listed in the table below with their own Census medians. Of the 9 counties in that group, Delaware County's median bill of $997 is the lowest.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT | 112,848 | $5,609 | $311,700 | 1.80% |
| Ontario County, NY | 112,405 | $4,460 | $202,900 | 2.20% |
| Androscoggin County, ME | 112,323 | $2,913 | $232,000 | 1.26% |
| LaPorte County, IN | 112,141 | $1,435 | $180,700 | 0.79% |
| Craighead County, AR | 112,097 | $1,084 | $198,700 | 0.55% |
| Pennington County, SD | 112,081 | $3,049 | $270,400 | 1.13% |
| Douglas County, OR | 111,807 | $1,869 | $283,200 | 0.66% |
| Hanover County, VA | 111,652 | $2,506 | $372,700 | 0.67% |
The closest population match is Craighead County, Arkansas (112,097 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $1,084 on a median home value of $198,700 — $87 less than Delaware County pays.
Inside Indiana itself, the counties closest to Delaware County in population are Clark County (122,800 residents, median tax $1,566 on a median value of $212,400); LaPorte County (112,141 residents, median tax $1,435 on a median value of $180,700); Vigo County (106,201 residents, median tax $1,256 on a median value of $140,400); Howard County (83,610 residents, median tax $1,110 on a median value of $151,500). Same state, same broad tax framework — yet the median bills still differ, because assessed values and the mix of county, municipal and school-district rates are set locally.
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. Delaware County's medians imply a derived rate of 0.78%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $3,124 a year, or around $260 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Illustrative bills in Delaware County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 0.78% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Delaware County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.74% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $1,172 | $98 |
| $250,000 | $1,952 | $163 |
| $350,000 | $2,734 | $228 |
| $500,000 | $3,905 | $325 |
| $750,000 | $5,858 | $488 |
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 Delaware 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 Delaware 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.
More Indiana counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Delaware County, Indiana?
The median real estate tax paid in Delaware County, Indiana is $997 per year, on a median home value of $127,600 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Delaware County, Indiana?
On a derived basis, 0.78%: the county's median tax bill of $997 divided by its median home value of $127,600. Because it is calculated from two survey medians, read it as a comparison estimate rather than an official rate.
How does Delaware County compare with the rest of Indiana?
By median taxes paid, Delaware County stands at #60 among the 92 Indiana counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $997 median bill is about 33% lower than the state median ($1,496), and 59 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Delaware County, Indiana?
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 Delaware County is $997 of tax on a $127,600 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Delaware County, Indiana?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Delaware County assessor's office and check it for errors, then compare your assessed value with recent sales of similar homes. If it still looks too high, file a formal appeal with the local review board named on your assessment notice before the deadline printed on the notice — windows are short, often 30 to 90 days.