Property Tax in Rapides Parish, Louisiana
In Rapides Parish, Louisiana, the typical homeowner pays $1,024 a year in property taxes on a home worth a median of $179,100. 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 Rapides Parish numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $1,024 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Rapides Parish, and $179,100 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 Rapides Parish is 0.57% (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.
The key figures for Rapides Parish
| Measure | Rapides Parish |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $1,024 |
| Median home value | $179,100 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.57% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $85 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $572 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $2,288 |
For context, the Louisiana medians are $1,146 of tax on $208,700 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Rapides Parish at a glance
- Median tax rank in Louisiana: #15 of 64 counties
- Median home value rank in Louisiana: #24 of 64
- Population rank in Louisiana: #13 of 64 (128,470 residents)
- Population density rank: #19 of 64 (97 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Louisiana: #2 of 64 (1,324 sq mi, 3.1% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $85; per $1,000 of home value: $0.57
How Rapides Parish compares
Of the 64 Louisiana counties with published data, 14 have a higher median property tax bill than Rapides Parish's $1,024, putting the county at #15 in the state. Its bill is about 11% lower than the state median of $1,146 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 0.57%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #24 within Louisiana.
Some extra context for Rapides Parish: the median bill works out to about $85 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $572 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 128,470 people — the #13 most populous county in Louisiana, spread over 1,324 square miles, a density of about 97 people per square mile. Its median home value, $179,100, ranks #24 among the state's 64 counties with data.
Nationally, Rapides Parish's median bill of $1,024 ranks #2333 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 74% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 2.8% of Louisiana's population, its median home value is about 14% below the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 5.72% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Rapides Parish to the most expensive county, Orleans Parish ($2,428), is $1,404 a year.
Counties nearest Rapides Parish in the Louisiana ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston Parish, LA | $1,079 | $218,900 | 0.49% |
| St. James Parish, LA | $1,043 | $197,800 | 0.53% |
| Ouachita Parish, LA | $1,016 | $183,000 | 0.56% |
| St. Bernard Parish, LA | $976 | $192,100 | 0.51% |
Rapides Parish and its population peers
For a like-for-like sense of scale, compare Rapides Parish with its national population peers: the counties nearest to its 128,470 residents, listed in the table below with their own Census medians. Of the 9 counties in that group, Rapides Parish's median bill of $1,024 is the lowest.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunterdon County, NJ | 129,448 | $10,001 | $498,800 | 2.00% |
| Clarke County, GA | 129,267 | $2,444 | $271,900 | 0.90% |
| Bossier Parish, LA | 129,134 | $1,380 | $215,100 | 0.64% |
| Ascension Parish, LA | 128,593 | $1,419 | $265,300 | 0.54% |
| Sebastian County, AR | 128,448 | $1,081 | $166,000 | 0.65% |
| Berkshire County, MA | 128,047 | $3,891 | $283,800 | 1.37% |
| Bonneville County, ID | 127,056 | $1,811 | $327,000 | 0.55% |
| Fayette County, PA | 126,967 | $1,516 | $126,900 | 1.20% |
The closest population match is Sebastian County, Arkansas (128,448 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $1,081 on a median home value of $166,000 — $57 less than Rapides Parish pays.
Rapides Parish's nearest population neighbours within Louisiana are Bossier Parish (129,134 residents, median tax $1,380 on a median value of $215,100); Ascension Parish (128,593 residents, median tax $1,419 on a median value of $265,300); Terrebonne Parish (107,362 residents, median tax $852 on a median value of $189,100); Lafourche Parish (96,670 residents, median tax $951 on a median value of $190,800). 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. Rapides Parish's medians imply a derived rate of 0.57%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $2,288 a year, or around $191 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Illustrative bills in Rapides Parish at the derived rate
The derived rate of 0.57% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Rapides Parish — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.55% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $858 | $72 |
| $250,000 | $1,430 | $119 |
| $350,000 | $2,002 | $167 |
| $500,000 | $2,860 | $238 |
| $750,000 | $4,290 | $357 |
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 Rapides Parish
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Rapides Parish assessor: wrong square footage, an extra room, or a missing homestead exemption are common and fixable. Next, line your assessed value up against recent sales of genuinely similar homes nearby. Many disputes end at an informal conversation with the assessor's office; if yours does not, file the formal appeal with the review board named on your notice before its deadline, evidence attached, and keep paying the bill in the meantime so penalties do not build up.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Rapides Parish, Louisiana?
The median real estate tax paid in Rapides Parish, Louisiana is $1,024 per year, on a median home value of $179,100 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Rapides Parish, Louisiana?
On a derived basis, 0.57%: the county's median tax bill of $1,024 divided by its median home value of $179,100. Because it is calculated from two survey medians, read it as a comparison estimate rather than an official rate.
How does Rapides Parish compare with the rest of Louisiana?
By median taxes paid, Rapides Parish stands at #15 among the 64 Louisiana counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $1,024 median bill is about 11% lower than the state median ($1,146), and 14 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Rapides Parish, Louisiana?
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 Rapides Parish is $1,024 of tax on a $179,100 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Rapides Parish, Louisiana?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Rapides Parish 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.