Property Tax & Income in Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Waukesha County has an effective property tax rate of 1.14%. On the median home value of $398,200, that's roughly $4,554 per year. Median household income is $106,076.
What you'll pay, at a glance
Property taxes are the largest local tax most homeowners pay. The effective rate measures the real tax bill as a share of home value — a more useful number than the nominal “mill rate,” because assessment practices vary county to county.
| Metric | Waukesha County | Wisconsin (state context) |
|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax rate1 | 1.14% | 1.36% |
| Median home value1 | $398,200 | — |
| State income tax3 | top rate 7.65% | top rate 7.65% |
| State sales tax3 | 5.72% combined | 5.72% combined |
How this is calculated
The effective property tax rate is the median real-estate tax bill divided by the median home value — both for owner-occupied homes, from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS 5-year estimates)1. Median income is also from the ACS1. Federal and state income-tax figures use IRS2 and Tax Foundation3 data.
About Waukesha County, WI
Waukesha County offers a middle path for buyers weighing home prices against tax bills. The median home here is valued at $398,200, which carries an annual property tax of about $4,554 — an effective rate of 1.144%. That rate sits below Wisconsin's statewide median of 1.362%, and the county ranks 59th out of 72 on this measure, so taxes take a smaller share of ownership costs than in most of the state. Nationally, though, the picture flips: the U.S. median effective rate is 0.794%, meaning Waukesha County homeowners pay proportionally more than the average American. Households earning the median income of $106,076 can absorb the bill, since it amounts to roughly four percent of that figure. Per-capita income reaches $58,126. Buyers looking in Waukesha, Brookfield, New Berlin, and surrounding communities should factor both the higher sticker price and the moderate tax rate into their budgets.