Property Tax in Rice County, Minnesota
The median real estate tax bill in Rice County, Minnesota is $2,899 per year, and the median home is worth $298,500. Both figures are the US Census Bureau's survey medians for owner-occupied households (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What the Rice County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Rice County pay more than $2,899, and half pay less. Your own bill is set by your home's assessed value, the exemptions you qualify for, and the local taxing districts your property sits in — so individual bills vary widely around the median.
Dividing the median tax by the median home value gives a derived effective rate of 0.97% for Rice County. It is an estimate built from two survey medians, not the county's official rate, but it is a fair way to compare the local tax burden with other counties where home values are very different.
Rice County by the numbers
| Measure | Rice County | Minnesota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $2,899 | $3,184 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $298,500 | $305,500 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.97% | 1.04% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $242 | $265 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Rice County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Minnesota: #15 of 87 counties
- Median home value rank in Minnesota: #12 of 87
- Population rank in Minnesota: #14 of 87 (67,389 residents)
- Population density rank: #12 of 87 (136 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Minnesota: #68 of 87 (495 sq mi, 0.6% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $242; per $1,000 of home value: $0.97
How Rice County compares
The median tax bill in Rice County is about 9% lower than the state median ($3,184 for Minnesota) and about the same as the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #15 out of 87 Minnesota counties with published Census data — 14 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. Rice County's derived rate of 0.97% sits below the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Rice County: the median bill works out to about $242 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $971 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 67,389 people — the #14 most populous county in Minnesota, spread over 495 square miles, a density of about 136 people per square mile. Its median home value, $298,500, ranks #12 among the state's 87 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 474 record a higher median tax bill than Rice County — it sits in the top 15% nationally. The county holds roughly 1.2% of Minnesota's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $298,500 versus $305,500), and a decade at the derived rate of 0.97% adds up to about 9.71% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Traverse County, medians $1,070 — $1,829 less than Rice County per year.
Counties nearest Rice County in the Minnesota ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isanti County, MN | $2,951 | $283,200 | 1.04% |
| Dodge County, MN | $2,902 | $267,500 | 1.08% |
| Nicollet County, MN | $2,888 | $258,500 | 1.12% |
| Goodhue County, MN | $2,866 | $269,400 | 1.06% |
Rice County and its population peers
Counties of a similar size can tax very differently. The table below shows the counties closest to Rice County in population across the United States, with their median bills and home values. Within the group of 9, Rice County ($2,899) ranks #2 of 9 by median tax paid.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurens County, SC | 67,904 | $673 | $153,500 | 0.44% |
| Allegany County, MD | 67,762 | $1,609 | $149,200 | 1.08% |
| McCracken County, KY | 67,584 | $1,342 | $182,900 | 0.73% |
| Madison County, NY | 67,572 | $4,058 | $176,800 | 2.29% |
| Effingham County, GA | 67,265 | $2,344 | $245,300 | 0.96% |
| Aroostook County, ME | 67,227 | $1,611 | $131,700 | 1.22% |
| Montcalm County, MI | 67,174 | $1,851 | $172,100 | 1.08% |
| Crow Wing County, MN | 67,113 | $2,161 | $274,400 | 0.79% |
The closest population match is Effingham County, Georgia (67,265 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $2,344 on a median home value of $245,300 — $555 more than Rice County pays.
Inside Minnesota itself, the counties closest to Rice County in population are Sherburne County (99,178 residents, median tax $3,311 on a median value of $332,700); Blue Earth County (69,386 residents, median tax $2,487 on a median value of $252,800); Crow Wing County (67,113 residents, median tax $2,161 on a median value of $274,400); Clay County (65,628 residents, median tax $2,854 on a median value of $256,000). 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. Rice County's medians imply a derived rate of 0.97%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $3,884 a year, or around $324 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Illustrative bills in Rice County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 0.97% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Rice County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 1.04% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $1,456 | $121 |
| $250,000 | $2,428 | $202 |
| $350,000 | $3,398 | $283 |
| $500,000 | $4,855 | $405 |
| $750,000 | $7,282 | $607 |
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 Rice County
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Rice County 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.
More Minnesota counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Rice County, Minnesota?
The median real estate tax paid in Rice County, Minnesota is $2,899 per year, on a median home value of $298,500 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Rice County, Minnesota?
The derived effective rate is 0.97% — the median bill ($2,899) expressed as a share of the median home value ($298,500). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Rice County compare with the rest of Minnesota?
By median taxes paid, Rice County stands at #15 among the 87 Minnesota counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $2,899 median bill is about 9% lower than the state median ($3,184), and 14 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Rice County, Minnesota?
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 Rice County is $2,899 of tax on a $298,500 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Rice County, Minnesota?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Rice 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.