Property tax in Woodbury County, Iowa
In Woodbury County, the property tax bill comes from the Woodbury County Treasurer. The fiscal year 2026-27 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due March 31, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Woodbury County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Woodbury County, Iowa is $2,656 a year, which is about 1.45% of the county's median home value of $183,200. That effective rate is higher 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.
Who sends the property tax bill in Woodbury County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Woodbury County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Woodbury County Assessor (the Sioux City Assessor values property inside Sioux City), which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
Sioux City has its own city assessor, who values property inside the city; the Woodbury County Assessor values property in the rest of the county. Both offices are in the courthouse at 620 Douglas St., and homestead and military exemptions are filed with whichever one covers your property. The County Treasurer sends the tax bill for all of it. Statements are mailed once a year in mid-August to the owner only, not to escrow companies, and you do not need to tell the Treasurer that your taxes are paid by escrow. Mailed payments go to Woodbury County Treasurer, 822 Douglas St Room 102, Sioux City, IA 51101. Online payment through the Iowa county treasurers' payment site costs 25 cents by e-check or 2.25% by card, and partial payments toward current taxes are accepted if they cover any interest due. If you disagree with the Board of Review's decision, you can appeal to the state Property Assessment Appeal Board or district court within 20 days after the Board adjourns or May 31, whichever is later.
When are property taxes due in Woodbury County?
For the fiscal year 2026-27 bill, Woodbury County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due September 30, 2026 and the last March 31, 2027. The next one due is the second installment, on March 31, 2027. Interest starts October 1 on an unpaid first half and April 1 on an unpaid second half, at 1.5% a month, rounded to the nearest dollar with a $1 minimum. Not receiving a statement does not waive interest. Delinquent notices go out after November 1 and May 1, taxes still unpaid in May are published in a local newspaper with a publication fee, and the parcel is offered at the county's annual tax sale on the third Monday in June.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First installment | September 30, 2026 (passed) | The county lists the first half as due September 1, but it becomes delinquent only on October 1, so no interest is charged on a payment made by September 30, 2026, a Wednesday. You can pay the whole year in September. A mailed payment must be postmarked by September 30; the county warns that mailing on the last day does not guarantee a timely postmark. Under Iowa law, when the last day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the deadline moves to the first business day of the next month. |
| Second installment | March 31, 2027 | The county lists the second half as due March 1, but it becomes delinquent only on April 1, so no interest is charged on a payment made by March 31, 2027, a Wednesday. The same postmark rule applies. |
From Woodbury County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Woodbury County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Woodbury County's average effective rate of 1.45% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,656 / year
Property tax in Woodbury County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,656 |
| Median home value | $183,200 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.45% |
| 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 Woodbury County compare in Iowa?
Among Iowa's 99 counties, Woodbury County has the 21st highest effective property-tax rate: 20 rank higher and 78 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Iowa. Nationally, it ranks 403rd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Iowa county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Woodbury County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Woodbury County's 27,754 owner-occupied homes, 40% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 65.8% pay at least $2,000, and 7.6% pay under $800. Another 2.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 2,096 | 7.6% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 3,773 | 13.6% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 3,015 | 10.9% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 7,162 | 25.8% |
| $3,000 or more | 11,112 | 40% |
| No property tax paid | 596 | 2.1% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,817 and owners without one pay $2,424. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Woodbury County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,656 is about 2.9% of the median income of Woodbury County homeowner households, $90,865 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 68.2% of Woodbury 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 Woodbury County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,025 in 2015-2019 to $2,656 in 2020-2024, a 31.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 48.6%, from $123,300 to $183,200. 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 Woodbury County
Woodbury County borders 8 counties, 3 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota County, NE | 1.54% | $2,854 | $185,700 |
| Thurston County, NE | 1.47% | $1,682 | $114,600 |
| Woodbury County, IA (this county) | 1.45% | $2,656 | $183,200 |
| Crawford County, IA | 1.28% | $1,973 | $153,700 |
| Ida County, IA | 1.16% | $1,260 | $108,900 |
| Union County, SD | 1.1% | $3,317 | $301,100 |
| Plymouth County, IA | 1.07% | $2,455 | $228,900 |
| Monona County, IA | 1.03% | $1,467 | $142,900 |
| Cherokee County, IA | 0.99% | $1,569 | $158,700 |
How is a home assessed in Woodbury County?
Iowa sets the assessment rules and Woodbury County applies them. How Iowa assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Woodbury 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 Woodbury County. Iowa's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Woodbury County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Iowa ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Woodbury County property assessment
In Woodbury County you appeal to the Local Board of Review (petitions go to the Woodbury County Assessor, or to the Sioux City Assessor for property inside Sioux City). The deadline: File a written petition to the Board of Review from April 2 through April 30 of the assessment year (April 30, 2027 is a Friday); it must reach the assessor's office by April 30 or be postmarked April 30. From April 2 through April 25 you can ask the assessor's office for an informal review, and an agreed change may be reached then. In a year when the county is declared a disaster area after March 1 and before May 20, the deadline moves to June 5. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Iowa's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Iowa rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Iowa page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Woodbury County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Iowa income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Iowa actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Woodbury County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Woodbury 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.