Property Tax in St. Louis County, Missouri
Homeowners in St. Louis County, Missouri pay a median of $3,193 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $260,700. 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 St. Louis County numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $3,193 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in St. Louis County, and $260,700 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 St. Louis County is 1.23% (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 St. Louis County
| Measure | St. Louis County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $3,193 |
| Median home value | $260,700 |
| Derived effective rate* | 1.23% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $266 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $1,225 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $4,900 |
For context, the Missouri medians are $1,887 of tax on $215,600 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
St. Louis County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Missouri: #3 of 115 counties
- Median home value rank in Missouri: #5 of 115
- Population rank in Missouri: #1 of 115 (996,618 residents)
- Population density rank: #2 of 115 (1,962 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Missouri: #77 of 115 (507 sq mi, 0.7% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $266; per $1,000 of home value: $1.23
How St. Louis County compares
Set against its state, St. Louis County's median bill of $3,193 is about 69% higher than the Missouri median ($1,887). Against the country as a whole it is about 8% higher than the US median ($2,969). That places the county #3 of 115 Missouri counties ranked by median taxes paid.
Remember what drives the ranking: bills follow home values as much as rates. St. Louis County's median home, at $260,700, ranks #5 by value in Missouri, while its derived rate of 1.23% compares with a derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for St. Louis County: the median bill works out to about $266 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,225 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 996,618 people — the #1 most populous county in Missouri, spread over 507 square miles, a density of about 1,962 people per square mile. Its median home value, $260,700, ranks #5 among the state's 115 counties with data.
Nationally, St. Louis County's median bill of $3,193 ranks #394 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 13% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 16.2% of Missouri's population, its median home value is about 21% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 12.25% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from St. Louis County to the most expensive county, Platte County ($3,365), is $172 a year.
Counties nearest St. Louis County in the Missouri ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platte County, MO | $3,365 | $317,600 | 1.06% |
| St. Charles County, MO | $3,340 | $296,800 | 1.12% |
| Clay County, MO | $2,817 | $256,400 | 1.10% |
| Jackson County, MO | $2,448 | $213,300 | 1.15% |
How the tax is worked out
The bill is built in stages. First the assessor puts a market value on the property. Exemptions — a homestead exemption above all — then reduce the taxable amount. Finally the combined local rate is applied. To see the scale: at the county's derived rate of 1.23%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $1,225 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $4,900. Real bills use the official assessment and district rates, not this derived figure, so treat the example as a sense of scale only.
Checking your assessment in St. Louis County
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the St. Louis 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in St. Louis County, Missouri?
The median real estate tax paid in St. Louis County, Missouri is $3,193 per year, on a median home value of $260,700 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in St. Louis County, Missouri?
The derived effective rate is 1.23% — the median bill ($3,193) expressed as a share of the median home value ($260,700). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does St. Louis County compare with the rest of Missouri?
By median taxes paid, St. Louis County stands at #3 among the 115 Missouri counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $3,193 median bill is about 69% higher than the state median ($1,887), and 2 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in St. Louis County, Missouri?
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 St. Louis County is $3,193 of tax on a $260,700 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in St. Louis County, Missouri?
You can. Pull your property record card from the St. Louis County 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.