Property tax in St. Louis County, Minnesota
In St. Louis County, the property tax bill comes from the St. Louis County Auditor, Tax Division. The Taxes payable 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due October 15, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from St. Louis County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in St. Louis County, Minnesota is $2,271 a year, which is about 1.03% of the county's median home value of $221,400. That effective rate is higher than the typical Minnesota county (0.99%) 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 St. Louis County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the St. Louis County Auditor, Tax Division. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the St. Louis County Assessor's Office, 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.
Minnesota bills a year behind the valuation: the 2026 assessment sets the taxes payable in 2027. The county assessor values property throughout the county, including Duluth and Hibbing, and the County Auditor's Tax Division sends the bill, which also carries the taxes for your city or township, school district and other taxing districts. Mailed payments must be postmarked on or before the due date. Online payment through Paymentus is free by e-check; cards, PayPal, Venmo and Google Pay cost 2.35%, and Visa debit $3.95 per payment, all kept by Paymentus. Drop boxes for checks and money orders (no cash) are at the courthouse and the Miller Trunk Highway service center in Duluth and at the Virginia Government Services Center, and the Hibbing Courthouse takes payments in person.
When are property taxes due in St. Louis County?
For the Taxes payable 2026 bill, St. Louis County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due May 15, 2026 and the last October 15, 2026. The next one due is the second half, on October 15, 2026. Under Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 279.01), a late half is charged a penalty of 2% on homestead property or 4% on non-homestead property the day after the due date, another 2% or 4% on the first day of the next month, and then 1% more on the first of each month through December, up to 8% for homestead and 12% for non-homestead property. Taxes not paid in the year they are due become delinquent on the first business day of the following year, after which interest is also charged. A partial payment is applied first to the penalty for the year.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half | May 15, 2026 (passed) | For real estate and personal property, including agricultural property. Resort property's first half (or the whole tax, if the statement says so) is due May 31, which in 2026 was a Sunday, so it moved to Monday, June 1. Tax statements are mailed in March, by the statutory deadline of March 31. If a due date falls on a weekend, it moves to the following business day. |
| Second half | October 15, 2026 | Non-agricultural real estate and personal property. The second half for agricultural parcels is due November 15, which in 2026 is a Sunday, so under the county's weekend rule it is due Monday, November 16, 2026. Manufactured homes are billed separately in July, with halves due August 31 and November 15. |
From St. Louis 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 St. Louis County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at St. Louis County's average effective rate of 1.03% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,280 / year
Property tax in St. Louis County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,271 |
| Median home value | $221,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.03% |
| Typical Minnesota county rate | 0.99% |
| 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 St. Louis County compare in Minnesota?
Among Minnesota's 87 counties, St. Louis County has the 30th highest effective property-tax rate: 29 rank higher and 57 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Minnesota. Nationally, it ranks 1041st of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Minnesota county ranked.
How much do homeowners in St. Louis County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across St. Louis County's 62,020 owner-occupied homes, 34.6% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 54% pay at least $2,000, and 15.9% pay under $800. Another 2.5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 9,838 | 15.9% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 10,297 | 16.6% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 6,836 | 11% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 12,027 | 19.4% |
| $3,000 or more | 21,472 | 34.6% |
| No property tax paid | 1,550 | 2.5% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,470 and owners without one pay $1,965. 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 St. Louis County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,271 is about 2.6% of the median income of St. Louis County homeowner households, $86,242 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 71.2% of St. Louis 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 St. Louis County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,620 in 2015-2019 to $2,271 in 2020-2024, a 40.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 40.2%, from $157,900 to $221,400.
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 St. Louis County
St. Louis County borders 6 counties, 1 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas County, WI | 1.26% | $2,599 | $205,800 |
| Carlton County, MN | 1.17% | $2,862 | $245,100 |
| St. Louis County, MN (this county) | 1.03% | $2,271 | $221,400 |
| Itasca County, MN | 0.86% | $1,945 | $225,200 |
| Koochiching County, MN | 0.74% | $1,156 | $156,600 |
| Lake County, MN | 0.73% | $1,765 | $241,300 |
| Aitkin County, MN | 0.55% | $1,407 | $255,800 |
How is a home assessed in St. Louis County?
Minnesota sets the assessment rules and St. Louis County applies them. How Minnesota assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in St. Louis County?
Yes, on a sliding scale. Minnesota's Homestead Market Value Exclusion is worth up to $38,000 on homes worth $95,000 or less and shrinks to nothing at $517,200. That is the Minnesota rule, and it applies in St. Louis County. Minnesota's exemptions and relief programs in full.
St. Louis County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Minnesota ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your St. Louis County property assessment
In St. Louis County you appeal to the City or township Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (unorganized townships go straight to the county board), then the St. Louis County Board of Appeal and Equalization, after first contacting your assessor. The deadline: Local boards meet in April and May, and the scheduled local board meeting is the appeal deadline; you can appear or send a letter to your city or town clerk. The County Board of Appeal and Equalization meets in the last two weeks of June (June 15 and 17 in 2026) and hears only appeals already taken to a local board or from unorganized townships; schedule through the Clerk of the County Board. The 2026 meetings are over, so the next board appeal is in spring 2027. An owner may instead go directly to the Minnesota Tax Court by April 30 of the year the tax is payable; for the 2026 assessment, which sets taxes payable in 2027, that is April 30, 2027. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Minnesota's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Minnesota rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Minnesota 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 St. Louis 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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Minnesota income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Minnesota actually taxes.
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Sales tax in St. Louis County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for St. Louis County, Minnesota: 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.