Property Tax in Iowa by County
According to the US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023, the median real estate tax bill in Iowa is $2,795 a year, on a median home value of $195,900. Figures for every Iowa county with published data — 99 in total — are in the table below. That state median is about 6% lower than the US median of $2,969.
At the top of the Iowa table sits Dallas County, IA (median $4,849); at the bottom, Pocahontas County, IA (median $1,066). One state, one tax system on paper — but the bills are set locally, county by county and district by district.
A few distribution facts: the median of Iowa's county medians is $1,976, 9 of 99 counties exceed the national median of $2,969, and the distance between the cheapest county (Pocahontas County, $1,066) and the most expensive (Dallas County, $4,849) is $3,783 a year.
Population and land tell different stories in Iowa: Polk County leads on population (497,441), whereas Kossuth County leads on land area (973 square miles). Find both in the county table to see how their tax bills compare.
Where people live in Iowa: Polk County leads with 497,441 residents (median tax $4,364, median home $248,400), followed by Linn County (229,463; $3,396 on $204,400) and Scott County (174,302; $3,221 on $212,500).
Iowa counties: median property tax
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, IA | $4,849 | $333,400 | 1.45% | 104,136 |
| Johnson County, IA | $4,587 | $293,100 | 1.56% | 154,881 |
| Polk County, IA | $4,364 | $248,400 | 1.76% | 497,441 |
| Warren County, IA | $3,797 | $252,800 | 1.50% | 53,484 |
| Madison County, IA | $3,681 | $236,900 | 1.55% | 16,760 |
| Story County, IA | $3,586 | $243,600 | 1.47% | 98,592 |
| Linn County, IA | $3,396 | $204,400 | 1.66% | 229,463 |
| Mills County, IA | $3,334 | $228,700 | 1.46% | 14,563 |
| Scott County, IA | $3,221 | $212,500 | 1.52% | 174,302 |
| Pottawattamie County, IA | $2,961 | $183,600 | 1.61% | 93,407 |
| Dubuque County, IA | $2,848 | $226,100 | 1.26% | 98,948 |
| Bremer County, IA | $2,796 | $207,200 | 1.35% | 25,118 |
| Black Hawk County, IA | $2,790 | $182,400 | 1.53% | 130,693 |
| Winneshiek County, IA | $2,784 | $239,000 | 1.17% | 19,972 |
| Boone County, IA | $2,741 | $191,200 | 1.43% | 26,669 |
| Marion County, IA | $2,727 | $211,100 | 1.29% | 33,551 |
| Sioux County, IA | $2,722 | $235,600 | 1.16% | 35,984 |
| Washington County, IA | $2,688 | $199,600 | 1.35% | 22,539 |
| Muscatine County, IA | $2,667 | $172,400 | 1.55% | 42,735 |
| Benton County, IA | $2,627 | $198,400 | 1.32% | 25,698 |
| Iowa County, IA | $2,560 | $189,800 | 1.35% | 16,547 |
| Woodbury County, IA | $2,542 | $172,000 | 1.48% | 105,760 |
| Jasper County, IA | $2,518 | $176,800 | 1.42% | 37,864 |
| Dickinson County, IA | $2,458 | $251,600 | 0.98% | 17,844 |
| Cedar County, IA | $2,433 | $199,700 | 1.22% | 18,427 |
| Jefferson County, IA | $2,397 | $161,200 | 1.49% | 15,676 |
| Henry County, IA | $2,394 | $148,600 | 1.61% | 20,228 |
| Clinton County, IA | $2,382 | $153,800 | 1.55% | 46,383 |
| Jones County, IA | $2,381 | $183,400 | 1.30% | 20,799 |
| Plymouth County, IA | $2,363 | $218,600 | 1.08% | 25,699 |
| Poweshiek County, IA | $2,362 | $184,200 | 1.28% | 18,582 |
| Clarke County, IA | $2,335 | $160,200 | 1.46% | 9,690 |
| Cerro Gordo County, IA | $2,305 | $154,100 | 1.50% | 42,785 |
| Buchanan County, IA | $2,286 | $171,400 | 1.33% | 20,645 |
| Delaware County, IA | $2,266 | $168,700 | 1.34% | 17,549 |
| Davis County, IA | $2,217 | $146,000 | 1.52% | 9,127 |
| Harrison County, IA | $2,214 | $165,300 | 1.34% | 14,645 |
| Guthrie County, IA | $2,172 | $163,900 | 1.32% | 10,646 |
| Butler County, IA | $2,158 | $156,500 | 1.38% | 14,301 |
| Clayton County, IA | $2,149 | $155,700 | 1.38% | 17,069 |
| Jackson County, IA | $2,129 | $170,000 | 1.25% | 19,429 |
| Union County, IA | $2,108 | $117,800 | 1.79% | 12,038 |
| Allamakee County, IA | $2,103 | $171,900 | 1.22% | 14,038 |
| Des Moines County, IA | $2,097 | $137,000 | 1.53% | 38,597 |
| Monroe County, IA | $2,065 | $135,900 | 1.52% | 7,546 |
| Webster County, IA | $2,047 | $138,500 | 1.48% | 36,848 |
| Marshall County, IA | $2,030 | $134,100 | 1.51% | 39,971 |
| Clay County, IA | $2,028 | $171,500 | 1.18% | 16,446 |
| Lyon County, IA | $1,983 | $215,600 | 0.92% | 12,087 |
| Shelby County, IA | $1,976 | $156,200 | 1.26% | 11,757 |
| Montgomery County, IA | $1,968 | $109,900 | 1.79% | 10,254 |
| Mahaska County, IA | $1,956 | $140,900 | 1.39% | 22,045 |
| Tama County, IA | $1,945 | $139,900 | 1.39% | 16,982 |
| Grundy County, IA | $1,929 | $180,500 | 1.07% | 12,352 |
| Fremont County, IA | $1,918 | $147,500 | 1.30% | 6,570 |
| Ringgold County, IA | $1,909 | $150,300 | 1.27% | 4,664 |
| Cass County, IA | $1,904 | $133,300 | 1.43% | 13,115 |
| Mitchell County, IA | $1,897 | $164,100 | 1.16% | 10,548 |
| Humboldt County, IA | $1,889 | $146,900 | 1.29% | 9,573 |
| Adair County, IA | $1,858 | $140,600 | 1.32% | 7,471 |
| Decatur County, IA | $1,856 | $109,500 | 1.70% | 7,669 |
| Lee County, IA | $1,855 | $123,600 | 1.50% | 33,175 |
| Floyd County, IA | $1,854 | $133,300 | 1.39% | 15,502 |
| Wapello County, IA | $1,854 | $112,900 | 1.64% | 35,265 |
| Carroll County, IA | $1,849 | $175,700 | 1.05% | 20,677 |
| Buena Vista County, IA | $1,822 | $146,900 | 1.24% | 20,684 |
| Hamilton County, IA | $1,807 | $132,300 | 1.37% | 14,893 |
| Chickasaw County, IA | $1,804 | $164,400 | 1.10% | 11,868 |
| Winnebago County, IA | $1,800 | $132,300 | 1.36% | 10,648 |
| Crawford County, IA | $1,799 | $136,300 | 1.32% | 16,289 |
| Louisa County, IA | $1,752 | $137,600 | 1.27% | 10,710 |
| Howard County, IA | $1,744 | $133,900 | 1.30% | 9,459 |
| Lucas County, IA | $1,732 | $117,000 | 1.48% | 8,685 |
| Fayette County, IA | $1,721 | $130,800 | 1.32% | 19,393 |
| Page County, IA | $1,721 | $120,000 | 1.43% | 15,168 |
| Wright County, IA | $1,695 | $109,800 | 1.54% | 12,817 |
| Greene County, IA | $1,682 | $140,500 | 1.20% | 8,722 |
| Hardin County, IA | $1,613 | $113,000 | 1.43% | 16,729 |
| Franklin County, IA | $1,597 | $118,500 | 1.35% | 9,977 |
| O'Brien County, IA | $1,572 | $158,900 | 0.99% | 14,103 |
| Emmet County, IA | $1,570 | $106,200 | 1.48% | 9,316 |
| Cherokee County, IA | $1,561 | $145,100 | 1.08% | 11,587 |
| Hancock County, IA | $1,541 | $129,300 | 1.19% | 10,718 |
| Worth County, IA | $1,530 | $142,300 | 1.07% | 7,380 |
| Calhoun County, IA | $1,506 | $114,400 | 1.32% | 9,858 |
| Appanoose County, IA | $1,501 | $119,800 | 1.25% | 12,242 |
| Keokuk County, IA | $1,491 | $112,200 | 1.33% | 9,964 |
| Adams County, IA | $1,479 | $116,900 | 1.26% | 3,641 |
| Palo Alto County, IA | $1,471 | $119,300 | 1.23% | 8,902 |
| Kossuth County, IA | $1,437 | $135,100 | 1.06% | 14,610 |
| Van Buren County, IA | $1,427 | $118,800 | 1.20% | 7,236 |
| Sac County, IA | $1,423 | $138,400 | 1.03% | 9,759 |
| Monona County, IA | $1,412 | $122,600 | 1.15% | 8,619 |
| Wayne County, IA | $1,377 | $102,300 | 1.35% | 6,518 |
| Audubon County, IA | $1,353 | $110,400 | 1.23% | 5,622 |
| Taylor County, IA | $1,329 | $109,700 | 1.21% | 5,901 |
| Osceola County, IA | $1,302 | $123,800 | 1.05% | 6,114 |
| Ida County, IA | $1,158 | $108,800 | 1.06% | 6,944 |
| Pocahontas County, IA | $1,066 | $93,300 | 1.14% | 7,040 |
*Derived rate = median taxes paid ÷ median home value — an estimate from two survey medians, not an official rate. Counties in bold detail pages are linked; all figures: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023.
How assessment and appeals work in Iowa
Nobody in Iowa pays a single statewide property tax. Instead, each property is assessed where it sits — usually by a county assessor — and taxed by the stack of local districts that cover it: the county, often a town or city, a school district, and sometimes fire, water or other special districts. Exemptions, above all a homestead exemption where offered, come off the assessed value before those rates are applied.
Disagree with the value on your assessment notice? The appeal route runs through the local office named on that notice. Ask for your property record card first and audit it for errors in area, rooms or condition; then support your case with recent comparable sales or a professional appraisal. Deadlines are printed on the notice and are strict, commonly only a month or two after assessments are mailed.
Keep in mind that the state-level medians shown here blend very different local markets inside Iowa. They are a benchmark for comparison, never a prediction of an individual bill — for that, only your own assessment, exemptions and district rates count.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Iowa?
The median real estate tax paid in Iowa is $2,795 per year, on a median home value of $195,900 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
Which Iowa county has the highest property taxes?
Among counties with published Census data, Dallas County has the highest median real estate taxes paid at $4,849 per year.
Which Iowa county has the lowest property taxes?
Among counties with published Census data, Pocahontas County has the lowest median real estate taxes paid at $1,066 per year.
How do I appeal a property tax assessment in Iowa?
Assessments in Iowa are handled locally, usually by the county assessor or an equivalent local office. If you believe your assessed value is too high, request your property record card, check it for errors, and file an appeal with the local board named on your assessment notice before the deadline printed on that notice — appeal windows are short, often 30 to 90 days.