Property tax in Walworth County, South Dakota

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Walworth County, South Dakota is $1,792 a year, which is about 1.31% of the county's median home value of $136,600. 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 Walworth County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Walworth County's average effective rate of 1.31% (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: $1,789 / year

Property tax in Walworth County at a glance

Walworth County, South Dakota property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,792
Median home value	$136,600
Effective tax rate	1.31%
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 Walworth County compare in South Dakota?

Among South Dakota's 66 counties, Walworth County has the 7th highest effective property-tax rate: 6 rank higher and 59 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 588th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Dakota county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Walworth County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Walworth County's 1,841 owner-occupied homes, 31.3% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 43.7% pay at least $2,000, and 26.1% pay under $800. Another 2.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Walworth County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	480	26.1%
$800 to $1,499	287	15.6%
$1,500 to $1,999	228	12.4%
$2,000 to $2,999	229	12.4%
$3,000 or more	576	31.3%
No property tax paid	41	2.2%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,787 and owners without one pay $1,007. 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 Walworth County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,792 is about 2.7% of the median income of Walworth County homeowner households, $67,100 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 76.2% of Walworth 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 Walworth County?

The survey cannot tell. The median bill was $1,529 in 2015-2019 and $1,792 in 2020-2024, but that $263 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 Walworth County

Walworth County borders 6 counties.

Walworth County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
McPherson County, SD	1.55%	$1,323	$85,600
Dewey County, SD	1.51%	$1,050	$69,600
Corson County, SD	1.45%	$1,009	$69,800
Potter County, SD	1.42%	$1,717	$121,300
Walworth County, SD (this county)	1.31%	$1,792	$136,600
Campbell County, SD	1.18%	$1,368	$115,900
Edmunds County, SD	0.8%	$1,313	$163,300

How is a home assessed in Walworth County?

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

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

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

How to appeal your Walworth 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; Walworth 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 Walworth 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.