Polk County, Texas property tax
The median homeowner in Polk County, Texas pays $1,597 a year in property tax on a home worth $154,000, an effective rate of 1.04%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
Polk County taxes property at 1.04%, within a rounding error of the national 0.98%. That makes the $1,597 median bill mostly a statement about local house prices rather than about local tax policy.
It ranks #157 of 202 Texas counties by effective rate, against a statewide 1.58%, and #969 nationally. The state runs from 2.09% in El Paso County down to 0.60% in Ward County.
The median home costs 2.61 times the median household income of $59,066, against 3.86 nationally, which is a comfortable ratio by American standards. 77.5% of occupied homes are owned rather than rented, and cheap housing relative to income is usually why. With 51,780 residents, the sample behind these medians is small, and the survey's own margins of error are correspondingly wider.
The rate is derived rather than quoted. How and why.
What that costs at different home values
Arithmetic at the county effective rate, before any exemption or assessment cap.
Housing and income
| Polk County | Texas | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 1.04% | 1.58% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $1,597 | $4,111 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $154,000 | $260,400 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $1,009 | $1,339 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $59,066 | $76,292 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 2.61× | 3.41× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 20.5% | 21.06% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 77.5% | 62.56% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 51,780.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson County | 1.30% | $3,726 | $286,300 |
| Cherokee County | 1.21% | $1,941 | $160,300 |
| Medina County | 1.31% | $2,881 | $220,000 |
| Burnet County | 1.13% | $3,495 | $310,500 |
| Rusk County | 1.00% | $1,670 | $166,900 |
Polk County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Polk County, Texas?
The effective rate is 1.04% of home value, from a median tax bill of $1,597 against a median home value of $154,000. That is 0.06 points above the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Polk County?
Roughly $4,160 a year at the county effective rate of 1.04%.
Is Polk County expensive compared with the rest of Texas?
It ranks #157 of 202 Texas counties by effective property tax rate, and #969 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.54 points below the Texas average of 1.58%.
What does housing cost in Polk County?
The median home is worth $154,000 and median gross rent is $1,009 a month. Median household income is $59,066, which puts the home at 2.61 times annual income and rent at 20.5% of it.