Property tax in Cherokee County, Iowa

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Cherokee County, Iowa is $1,569 a year, which is about 0.99% of the county's median home value of $158,700. That effective rate is lower than the typical Iowa county (1.32%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Cherokee County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Cherokee County's average effective rate of 0.99% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $1,571 / year

Property tax in Cherokee County at a glance

Cherokee County, Iowa property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,569
Median home value	$158,700
Effective tax rate	0.99%
Typical Iowa county rate	1.32%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Cherokee County compare in Iowa?

Among Iowa's 99 counties, Cherokee County has the 96th highest effective property-tax rate: 95 rank higher and 3 rank lower. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1134th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Iowa county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Cherokee County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Cherokee County's 3,810 owner-occupied homes, 19.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 34.7% pay at least $2,000, and 17.4% pay under $800. Another 2.4% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Cherokee County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	663	17.4%
$800 to $1,499	1,111	29.2%
$1,500 to $1,999	621	16.3%
$2,000 to $2,999	584	15.3%
$3,000 or more	741	19.4%
No property tax paid	90	2.4%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,464 and owners without one pay $1,650. Here the owners without a mortgage pay more, which can happen where long-held homes sit in the higher-value parts of the county. Census table B25103.

How does the Cherokee County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,569 is about 1.8% of the median income of Cherokee County homeowner households, $85,372 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 75.5% of Cherokee County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Cherokee County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,247 in 2015-2019 to $1,569 in 2020-2024, a 25.8% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 48.7%, from $106,700 to $158,700. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Cherokee County

Cherokee County borders 8 counties.

Cherokee County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Woodbury County, IA	1.45%	$2,656	$183,200
Buena Vista County, IA	1.21%	$1,931	$159,500
Ida County, IA	1.16%	$1,260	$108,900
Clay County, IA	1.15%	$2,050	$178,600
Sioux County, IA	1.12%	$2,801	$250,100
Sac County, IA	1.1%	$1,556	$141,400
Plymouth County, IA	1.07%	$2,455	$228,900
Cherokee County, IA (this county)	0.99%	$1,569	$158,700
O'Brien County, IA	0.98%	$1,701	$173,100

How is a home assessed in Cherokee County?

Iowa sets the assessment rules and Cherokee County applies them. How Iowa assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Cherokee County?

Yes. From the 2026 assessment year Iowa exempts 10% of a homestead's taxable value, never less than $5,500 or more than $20,000. File form 54-028 with your assessor by July 1. That is the Iowa rule, and it applies in Cherokee County. Iowa's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Cherokee County?

Iowa bills for a fiscal year running July 1 to June 30 and you pay the county treasurer in two halves, the first by September 30 and the second by March 31. The statute technically says pay before September 1 and March 1, but nothing goes delinquent and no interest accrues until October 1 and April 1, which is why counties advertise the end of September and March as the real deadlines. If the last day lands on a weekend you have until the second business day of the following month.

Iowa splits the bill into 2 installments. That is the Iowa rule. Cherokee County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Cherokee County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the your local board of review, then the Property Assessment Appeal Board or district court. The filing deadline is typically April 30, with protests accepted from April 2 onward. That is the Iowa rule; Cherokee County sets the exact dates and forms. The Iowa appeal process step by step.

Iowa rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Iowa page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Cherokee County, Iowa: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.