Buffalo County, Wisconsin property tax
The median homeowner in Buffalo County, Wisconsin pays $2,811 a year in property tax on a home worth $197,600, an effective rate of 1.42%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
At 1.42%, Buffalo County taxes property more heavily than the country as a whole, which sits at 0.98%. That combination is the usual one. Houses here are worth $197,600 against a national $303,400, and a smaller tax base has to be taxed at a higher percentage to fund the same schools and roads. Whether the state also leans on property tax by choice, as several do in place of an income tax, is a separate question the rate alone cannot answer.
It ranks #44 of 70 Wisconsin counties by effective rate, against a statewide 1.51%, and #459 nationally. The state runs from 2.04% in Milwaukee County down to 0.80% in Vilas County.
The median home costs 2.88 times the median household income of $68,722, against 3.86 nationally, which is a comfortable ratio by American standards. 78.32% of occupied homes are owned rather than rented, and cheap housing relative to income is usually why. This is a small rural county of 13,341 people. Five-year survey estimates for places this size carry wide margins of error, so treat the figures as approximate.
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
| Buffalo County | Wisconsin | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 1.42% | 1.51% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $2,811 | $3,746 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $197,600 | $247,400 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $822 | $1,045 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $68,722 | $75,670 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 2.88× | 3.27× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 14.35% | 16.57% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 78.32% | 67.89% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 13,341.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price County | 1.45% | $2,110 | $146,000 |
| Rusk County | 1.21% | $1,834 | $152,000 |
| Marquette County | 1.35% | $2,709 | $201,100 |
| Ashland County | 1.47% | $2,354 | $160,500 |
| Crawford County | 1.64% | $2,868 | $175,100 |
Buffalo County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Buffalo County, Wisconsin?
The effective rate is 1.42% of home value, from a median tax bill of $2,811 against a median home value of $197,600. That is 0.44 points above the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Buffalo County?
Roughly $5,680 a year at the county effective rate of 1.42%.
Is Buffalo County expensive compared with the rest of Wisconsin?
It ranks #44 of 70 Wisconsin counties by effective property tax rate, and #459 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.09 points below the Wisconsin average of 1.51%.
What does housing cost in Buffalo County?
The median home is worth $197,600 and median gross rent is $822 a month. Median household income is $68,722, which puts the home at 2.88 times annual income and rent at 14.35% of it.