Property Tax in Cass County, North Dakota
Homeowners in Cass County, North Dakota pay a median of $3,449 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $284,700. 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 Cass County numbers mean
The median is the midpoint of the county's actual bills: half of Cass County homeowners pay more than $3,449 a year and half pay less. The exact bill for any one home depends on its assessed value, exemptions, and which school, municipal and special districts cover it.
Set against the median home value of $284,700, the median bill works out to a derived effective rate of 1.21%. That rate is an estimate computed from the two medians — no county publishes a rate calculated this way — but it adjusts for home prices, which makes comparisons between counties more meaningful.
Cass County by the numbers
| Measure | Cass County | North Dakota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $3,449 | $2,392 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $284,700 | $241,100 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 1.21% | 0.99% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $287 | $199 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Cass County at a glance
- Median tax rank in North Dakota: #1 of 53 counties
- Median home value rank in North Dakota: #4 of 53
- Population rank in North Dakota: #1 of 53 (189,286 residents)
- Population density rank: #1 of 53 (107 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in North Dakota: #10 of 53 (1,764 sq mi, 2.6% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $287; per $1,000 of home value: $1.21
How Cass County compares
The median tax bill in Cass County is about 44% higher than the state median ($2,392 for North Dakota) and about 16% higher than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #1 out of 53 North Dakota counties with published Census data — 0 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. Cass County's derived rate of 1.21% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Cass County: the median bill works out to about $287 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,211 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 189,286 people — the #1 most populous county in North Dakota, spread over 1,764 square miles, a density of about 107 people per square mile. Its median home value, $284,700, ranks #4 among the state's 53 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 323 record a higher median tax bill than Cass County — it sits in the top 10% nationally. The county holds roughly 24.3% of North Dakota's people. Its homes are worth more than the state norm (median $284,700 versus $241,100), and a decade at the derived rate of 1.21% adds up to about 12.11% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Sioux County, medians $410 — $3,039 less than Cass County per year.
Counties nearest Cass County in the North Dakota ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward County, ND | $2,785 | $259,100 | 1.07% |
| Burleigh County, ND | $2,764 | $314,700 | 0.88% |
Cass County and its population peers
For a like-for-like sense of scale, compare Cass County with its national population peers: the counties nearest to its 189,286 residents, listed in the table below with their own Census medians. Of the 9 counties in that group, Cass County's median bill of $3,449 is #2 of 9.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort County, SC | 192,123 | $2,022 | $407,600 | 0.50% |
| Iredell County, NC | 191,800 | $1,843 | $292,300 | 0.63% |
| Outagamie County, WI | 191,537 | $3,580 | $244,100 | 1.47% |
| Washington County, UT | 189,827 | $2,076 | $465,600 | 0.45% |
| Saginaw County, MI | 189,210 | $2,190 | $139,400 | 1.57% |
| Johnson County, TX | 188,820 | $3,259 | $254,600 | 1.28% |
| DeSoto County, MS | 188,598 | $1,595 | $248,700 | 0.64% |
| Tippecanoe County, IN | 187,399 | $1,355 | $217,600 | 0.62% |
The closest population match is Saginaw County, Michigan (189,210 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $2,190 on a median home value of $139,400 — $1,259 more than Cass County pays.
Cass County's nearest population neighbours within North Dakota are Burleigh County (98,986 residents, median tax $2,764 on a median value of $314,700); Grand Forks County (72,764 residents, median tax $2,754 on a median value of $244,200). 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
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 1.21%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $1,211 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $4,844. Real bills use the official assessment and district rates, not this derived figure, so treat the example as a sense of scale only.
Illustrative bills in Cass County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 1.21% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Cass County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.99% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $1,816 | $151 |
| $250,000 | $3,028 | $252 |
| $350,000 | $4,238 | $353 |
| $500,000 | $6,055 | $505 |
| $750,000 | $9,082 | $757 |
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 Cass County
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Cass 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 North Dakota counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Cass County, North Dakota?
The median real estate tax paid in Cass County, North Dakota is $3,449 per year, on a median home value of $284,700 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Cass County, North Dakota?
On a derived basis, 1.21%: the county's median tax bill of $3,449 divided by its median home value of $284,700. Because it is calculated from two survey medians, read it as a comparison estimate rather than an official rate.
How does Cass County compare with the rest of North Dakota?
By median taxes paid, Cass County stands at #1 among the 53 North Dakota counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $3,449 median bill is about 44% higher than the state median ($2,392), and 0 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Cass County, North Dakota?
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 Cass County is $3,449 of tax on a $284,700 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Cass County, North Dakota?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Cass 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.