Property tax in McPherson County, South Dakota

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in McPherson County, South Dakota is $1,323 a year, which is about 1.55% of the county's median home value of $85,600. That effective rate is higher than the typical South Dakota county (1.02%) 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 McPherson County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at McPherson County's average effective rate of 1.55% (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: $1,327 / year

Property tax in McPherson County at a glance

McPherson County, South Dakota property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,323
Median home value	$85,600
Effective tax rate	1.55%
Typical South Dakota county rate	1.02%
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 McPherson County compare in South Dakota?

Among South Dakota's 66 counties, McPherson County has the 2nd highest effective property-tax rate: 1 rank higher and 64 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 299th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Dakota county ranked.

How much do homeowners in McPherson County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across McPherson County's 744 owner-occupied homes, 6% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 27.8% pay at least $2,000, and 34.1% pay under $800. Another 4% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by McPherson County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	254	34.1%
$800 to $1,499	142	19.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	111	14.9%
$2,000 to $2,999	162	21.8%
$3,000 or more	45	6%
No property tax paid	30	4%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,795 and owners without one pay $1,220. 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 McPherson County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,323 is about 2% of the median income of McPherson County homeowner households, $67,313 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 81.3% of McPherson 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 McPherson County?

Yes. The median bill went from $895 in 2015-2019 to $1,323 in 2020-2024, a 47.8% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 45.3%, from $58,900 to $85,600.

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 McPherson County

McPherson County borders 6 counties, 2 of them across the state line.

McPherson County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
McPherson County, SD (this county)	1.55%	$1,323	$85,600
Walworth County, SD	1.31%	$1,792	$136,600
Brown County, SD	1.18%	$2,598	$221,100
Campbell County, SD	1.18%	$1,368	$115,900
McIntosh County, ND	1.08%	$913	$84,200
Dickey County, ND	0.92%	$1,488	$162,400
Edmunds County, SD	0.8%	$1,313	$163,300

How is a home assessed in McPherson County?

South Dakota assesses homes at 85% of market value in every county, McPherson County included. How South Dakota assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in McPherson County?

Not as a dollar amount. A South Dakota home you own and live in gets the owner-occupied classification, which lowers the school general fund levy. File the certificate with the county director of equalization by March 15. That is the South Dakota rule, and it applies in McPherson County. South Dakota's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in McPherson County?

Taxes are due and payable January 1 of the year after the assessment, collected by the county treasurer. You can split the bill: pay the first half by April 30 and the second by October 31 and nothing goes delinquent. Miss those and the unpaid half becomes delinquent on May 1 or November 1 and starts accruing monthly interest. Bills of $50 or less must be paid in full by April 30, and when a deadline lands on a weekend it moves to the last working day of that month.

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

How to appeal your McPherson County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the local board of equalization, then the county board of equalization, then the Office of Hearing Examiners or circuit court. The filing deadline is typically mid-March to the local board, with the county board about three weeks later; the exact dates shift each year. That is the South Dakota rule; McPherson County sets the exact dates and forms. The South Dakota appeal process step by step.

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

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for McPherson County, South Dakota: 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.