Property tax in Mellette County, South Dakota

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Mellette County, South Dakota is $825 a year, which is about 0.98% of the county's median home value of $84,100. That effective rate is lower 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 Mellette County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Mellette County's average effective rate of 0.98% (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: $824 / year

Property tax in Mellette County at a glance

Mellette County, South Dakota property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$825
Median home value	$84,100
Effective tax rate	0.98%
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 Mellette County compare in South Dakota?

Among South Dakota's 66 counties, Mellette County has the 40th highest effective property-tax rate: 39 rank higher and 26 rank lower. That is on the lower side for South Dakota. Nationally, it ranks 1186th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Dakota county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Mellette County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Mellette County's 387 owner-occupied homes, 4.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 7.2% pay at least $2,000, and 30.2% pay under $800. Another 35.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Mellette County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	117	30.2%
$800 to $1,499	60	15.5%
$1,500 to $1,999	43	11.1%
$2,000 to $2,999	11	2.8%
$3,000 or more	17	4.4%
No property tax paid	139	35.9%

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

The median property tax bill of $825 is about 1.4% of the median income of Mellette County homeowner households, $57,457 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 60.4% of Mellette 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 Mellette County?

The survey cannot tell. The median bill was $778 in 2015-2019 and $825 in 2020-2024, but that $47 difference is inside the Census's own margin of error for a county this size, so it could be sampling noise rather than a real change.

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 Mellette County

Mellette County borders 6 counties.

Mellette County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Todd County, SD	1.81%	$975	$53,900
Bennett County, SD	0.98%	$1,535	$156,400
Mellette County, SD (this county)	0.98%	$825	$84,100
Tripp County, SD	0.95%	$1,262	$132,900
Jones County, SD	0.94%	$1,313	$139,600
Lyman County, SD	0.91%	$1,506	$165,800
Jackson County, SD	0.65%	$760	$117,300

How is a home assessed in Mellette County?

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

Is there a homestead exemption in Mellette 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 Mellette County. South Dakota's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Mellette 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. Mellette County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Mellette 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; Mellette 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 Mellette 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.