Property tax by ZIP code in Wisconsin
Enter a Wisconsin ZIP and see the median property tax paid, median home value, and effective tax rate from the 2020–2024 American Community Survey — plus how it compares to the Wisconsin state median.
Look up a Wisconsin ZIP code
Enter a 5-digit Wisconsin ZIP code above to see its property tax data.
ZIP doesn't have ACS data — typically because it's a PO-box-only ZIP, a single-business ZIP, or a small area where the Census suppresses small-sample estimates. Try a nearby ZIP.
ZIP isn't a Wisconsin ZIP code. This page covers Wisconsin only. Other states are launching state by state — check back, or use our state-by-state median page in the meantime.
Wisconsin's effective property-tax rate runs relatively high — around 1.42% of value statewide — because the state leans heavily on the property tax to fund local government and schools, with comparatively few local-option sales taxes to share the load. Homes are assessed at full market value, so there's no fractional ratio to decode.
Enter a 5-digit Wisconsin ZIP to see its median property tax, median home value, and effective rate from the US Census American Community Survey 2020–2024 vintage, plus how it compares to the Wisconsin state and US national medians. The explainer below covers full-value assessment and the DOR's equalized value, the five-year revaluation rule, the automatic school-levy and lottery credits, and the income-based Homestead Credit.
How Wisconsin property tax works
In Wisconsin, local (municipal) assessors value most property — residential and commercial — at 100% of full (market) value; the state assesses only manufacturing property. Because local assessments can drift away from the market between revaluations, the Department of Revenue independently calculates each municipality's "equalized value" at full value, and the assessment ratio (local assessed value divided by equalized value) measures how far a community's books have slipped. State law requires each taxation district to assess at full value at least once every five years, and the DOR steps in when a major class of property drifts more than 10% off full value.
Wisconsin's homeowner relief mostly arrives as credits printed right on the tax bill. The School Levy Tax Credit and the First Dollar Credit are applied automatically to qualifying parcels, regardless of who lives there. The Lottery and Gaming Credit, funded by state lottery proceeds, is different: it applies only to an owner's primary residence as of the January 1 certification date, one per owner.
For lower-income households there's the Homestead Credit, claimed on Schedule H with the state income-tax return rather than on the property bill: for 2025 it phases out at $24,680 of household income and tops out at a $1,168 credit. On the policy side, the 2025–27 state budget (2025 Wisconsin Act 15) increased funding for the School Levy Tax Credit to deliver broad property-tax relief — that change is enacted, not proposed.
Why your actual bill differs
The numbers above describe a typical homeowner in this ZIP — not your specific bill. A few things move bills away from the median:
- Overlapping levies. Your bill stacks municipal, county, school-district, and technical-college levies, so two similar homes in different districts can owe different amounts.
- Assessment drift and revaluation. Between full-value revaluations, a community's assessments can lag the market and then reset — so a recent revaluation can push a bill above the ZIP median.
- Credits. The automatic School Levy and First Dollar credits, the Lottery and Gaming Credit on a primary home, and the income-based Homestead Credit each pull a qualifying owner's bill below the median.
Wisconsin has no single statewide bill lookup — most counties run their own. Dane County's Access Dane portal is a working example; for other counties, search your county's property or land-records site.
Methodology
Data on this page comes from the US Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 vintage (released January 29, 2026), at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level. After filtering ZCTAs the Census suppresses for privacy or small-sample reasons, this page covers 760 Wisconsin ZIPs.
Topcoding in Wisconsin. The Census caps median property tax at $10,000, reporting anything higher as $10,001. Wisconsin's moderate home values keep essentially every ZIP below the cap, so the figures here are true medians.
See the full methodology page for source details (Census table IDs, the comparison-median rule, calculator formulas), how we handle topcoding across every state, and the refresh cadence.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the median tax in my ZIP different from what I pay?
Median is the middle of the distribution, not your bill. Wisconsin assesses at full market value, but assessments drift between revaluations and your bill stacks several overlapping levies. The school-levy, first-dollar, lottery, and Homestead credits move qualifying owners further from the median.
Why might my ZIP show $10,001 as the median tax?
That's the Census topcode for privacy, but it's essentially absent in Wisconsin — moderate home values keep medians under the $10,000 cap, so the figures here are true medians.
Where do I find my actual Wisconsin property tax bill?
Through your county or municipal treasurer. Wisconsin has no statewide portal; most counties run their own. Dane County's Access Dane is a working example.
When does Wisconsin data update on this page?
Annually, when the Census Bureau releases a new ACS 5-year vintage. The 2020–2024 vintage released January 29, 2026. The next vintage (2021–2025) typically follows the next year, though the Census has not yet posted its release date.
Why don't you cover other states yet?
State-by-state rollout. Each state needs its own context section (assessment method, exemptions, local taxing structure) to be genuinely useful. High-search-volume states are going live first.