Property Tax in Scott County, Minnesota

What the Scott County numbers mean

A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Scott County pay more than $4,195, 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 1.07% for Scott 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.

Scott County by the numbers

*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.

Scott County at a glance

• Median tax rank in Minnesota: #3 of 87 counties
• Median home value rank in Minnesota: #3 of 87
• Population rank in Minnesota: #9 of 87 (152,957 residents)
• Population density rank: #6 of 87 (430 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in Minnesota: #85 of 87 (356 sq mi, 0.4% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $350; per $1,000 of home value: $1.07

How Scott County compares

Of the 87 Minnesota counties with published data, 2 have a higher median property tax bill than Scott County's $4,195, putting the county at #3 in the state. Its bill is about 32% higher than the state median of $3,184 and about 41% higher 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 1.07%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #3 within Minnesota.

Some extra context for Scott County: the median bill works out to about $350 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,066 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 152,957 people — the #9 most populous county in Minnesota, spread over 356 square miles, a density of about 430 people per square mile. Its median home value, $393,500, ranks #3 among the state's 87 counties with data.

Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 196 record a higher median tax bill than Scott County — it sits in the top 6% nationally. The county holds roughly 2.7% of Minnesota's people. Its homes are worth more than the state norm (median $393,500 versus $305,500), and a decade at the derived rate of 1.07% adds up to about 10.66% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Traverse County, medians $1,070 — $3,125 less than Scott County per year.

Counties nearest Scott County in the Minnesota ranking

Scott County and its population peers

Population is a useful lens on these figures, so the table below sets Scott County beside the counties closest to it in population anywhere in the country — communities of a similar scale operating under different state and local tax systems. Ranked by median tax paid within this peer group of 9, Scott County's $4,195 bill is #3 of 9.

The closest population match is Cumberland County, New Jersey (152,915 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $5,048 on a median home value of $205,600 — $853 less than Scott County pays.

Scott County's nearest population neighbours within Minnesota are Olmsted County (163,425 residents, median tax $3,314 on a median value of $304,500); Stearns County (159,358 residents, median tax $2,617 on a median value of $256,500); Wright County (145,270 residents, median tax $3,319 on a median value of $332,800); Carver County (108,622 residents, median tax $4,380 on a median value of $426,900). 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

As an illustration of the arithmetic: at Scott County's derived rate of 1.07%, a home valued at $400,000 would carry a tax bill of roughly $4,264 a year. That is only an illustration using the derived rate — a real bill is computed from the property's assessed value, its exemptions, and the combined rates of its specific taxing districts, so it can be higher or lower.

The usual sequence is: the local assessor values the property; exemptions are applied; the taxable value is multiplied by the combined local rates; and the county bills and collects the tax, distributing it to the schools, municipalities and districts that levied it.

Illustrative bills in Scott County at the derived rate

The derived rate of 1.07% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Scott County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 1.04% and the US figure of 0.98%:

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 Scott County

If your bill looks wrong, work through these steps:

1. Get your property record card from the assessor and check the basics — living area, lot size, bedrooms, condition, and any exemptions you should have.
2. Compare your assessed value with recent sale prices of similar homes in Scott County.
3. Talk to the assessor's office informally first; clear errors are often fixed without a hearing.
4. If needed, file a formal appeal with the local review board before the deadline on your assessment notice, with your evidence attached.
5. Keep paying the bill as issued while the appeal runs, unless your notice says otherwise — unpaid taxes accrue penalties regardless of an appeal.

More Minnesota counties

• Stearns County, MN — $2,617
• Wright County, MN — $3,319
• Olmsted County, MN — $3,314
• Carver County, MN — $4,380
• St. Louis County, MN — $2,142
• Sherburne County, MN — $3,311

Frequently asked questions