Local taxes › Black Hawk County

Black Hawk County

How property tax rates have changed, what’s taxed, what the county spends, and what the state sends it. Open a city for where its tax dollar goes.

Property tax rates over time

Typical combined rate per $1,000 of taxable value, and the county government’s own rural levy (part of the rural rate).

In citiesRuralCounty levy
0$15$30$45$60’20’22’24’26’27In citiesRuralCounty levy
0$15$30$45$60’20’21’22’23’24’25’26’27In citiesRuralCounty levy
Show the numbers
YearIn citiesRuralCounty’s rural levy
FY27$45.83$25.87$9.26
FY26$41.05$26.33$9.28
FY25$37.36$26.32$9.32
FY24$38.93$25.61$9.24
FY23$37.27$25.29$9.17
FY22$36.52$25.85$9.64
FY21$36.09$26.03$9.98
FY20$35.94$26.12$9.88

Cities, FY27

Typical combined rate in each city, per $1,000 of taxable value.

Show the numbers
CityTypical rateSince FY22
Cedar Falls$33.87+2.6%
Dunkerton$32.86+3.1%
Elk Run Heights$34.38–
Evansdale$32.06+8.8%
Gilbertville$39.21+13.9%
Hudson$37.66+13.6%
Janesville$34.09–
Jesup$36.48-0.5%
La Porte City$36.77+1.0%
Raymond$30.91+8.7%
Waterloo$45.83+14.1%

What’s taxed

$7.26B of taxable value in 2025 valuations, +17.6% since 2020. Who carries the load, by kind of property:

  • Homes$4.67B62%
  • Commercial$1.93B26%
  • Farmland and farm buildings$395.9M5%
  • Industrial$294.8M4%
  • Utilities, railroads and other$227.1M3%

Taxable value over time

HomesBusinessFarmland
0$1.50B$3.00B$4.50B$6.00B20182020202220242025HomesBusinessFarmland
0$1.50B$3.00B$4.50B$6.00B20182019202020212022202320242025HomesBusinessFarmland
Show the numbers
Valuation yearHomesFarmlandCommercialIndustrialTotal
2025$4.67B$395.9M$1.93B$294.8M$7.26B
2024$4.48B$388.8M$1.88B$265.2M$6.98B
2023$4.31B$377.9M$1.86B$260.6M$6.82B
2022$4.18B$388.5M$1.50B$245.1M$6.36B
2021$3.96B$376.9M$1.58B$377.6M$6.36B
2020$3.84B$365.8M$1.54B$378.1M$6.18B
2019$3.69B$354.6M$1.50B$385.3M$6.00B
2018$3.67B$352.8M$1.47B$388.0M$5.94B

The county’s budget

Black Hawk County plans to spend $79.4M in FY27, from property taxes, state and federal money, fees and its reserves. It spent $77.9M in FY25.

  • Public safety & legal services$27.3M34%
  • Capital projects$13.8M17%
  • Physical health & social services$10.0M13%
  • Roads & transportation$8.9M11%
  • Administration$8.8M11%
  • Debt payments$4.2M5%
  • Parks, libraries, extension & environment$3.6M4%
  • Services to residents (records, elections, licenses)$2.9M4%

Its property tax levies, FY27

Dollars per $1,000 of taxable value. Everyone in the county pays the countywide levies; people outside cities also pay the rural ones, which mostly pay for roads and rural services.

  • General Basic · countywide$3.50
  • General Supplemental · countywide$1.81
  • Debt Service · countywide$0.25
  • Countywide · countywide$5.57
  • Rural Basic · rural$3.67
  • Rural Supplemental · rural$0.03
  • Total Rural · rural$9.26

From county budgets and annual financial reports filed with the Department of Management.

Local option sales tax collected

The extra local sales tax voters here approved, collected by the state and paid back to the county and its cities.

$27.3M
’14’16’18’20’22’24
Show the numbers
YearCollected
FY24$27.3M
FY23$24.7M
FY22$24.3M
FY21$24.8M
FY20$21.7M
FY19$20.2M
FY18$19.5M
FY17$19.0M
FY16$19.1M
FY15$18.9M
FY14$19.2M

State payments to the county and its cities

Local option sales tax the state collected for them, and property tax credits it pays on residents’ behalf. The newest year may be partial.

$40.2M
$2.8M
’20’21’22’23’24’25’26’27

Who received them, FY26

  • City of Waterloo$14.4M40%
  • Black Hawk County$12.0M33%
  • City of Cedar Falls$7.6M21%
  • City of Evansdale$800,9022%
  • City of Hudson$465,0131%
  • City of La Porte City$423,9031%
  • City of Elk Run Heights$190,6291%
  • City of Dunkerton$153,9530%
  • City of Gilbertville$144,9820%
  • City of Raymond$131,8370%
Show the numbers
ProgramFY27FY26FY25FY24FY23FY22FY21FY20
Local option sales tax$2.4M$28.5M$26.8M$27.3M$25.2M$27.8M$23.4M$20.1M
Homestead property tax credit–$7.2M$6.7M$6.2M$6.1M$6.0M$6.1M$5.8M
Ag land and family farm tax credits$377,642$430,139$482,354$435,898$430,676$445,815$807,258$444,561
Business property tax credit––$5.1M$6.0M$5.2M$5.3M$5.2M$5.2M
Elderly and disabled property tax credit–$161,600$163,967$194,795$206,460$213,333$219,699$235,147
Military service property tax credit–––$62,555$65,099$68,264$72,179$75,186

Local elections

Most recent: November 3, 2026

County offices · 7
Townships · 23

    No candidates listed.

      No candidates listed.

        No candidates listed.

        Local races from civicAPI for Black Hawk County. Results for local races can take weeks to appear; official results are on each county auditor’s site. Officials are worked out from election results: every member whose four-year term is still running, plus appointments and titles Iowa Funnel has been told about. A resignation may not show yet.

        School districts

        School districts that tax property in Black Hawk County.

        Cedar FallsDenverDike-New HartfordDunkertonGladbrook-ReinbeckHudsonJanesvilleJesupUnionVinton-ShellsburgWapsie ValleyWaterlooWaverly-Shell Rock

        Typical rates are medians across the county’s tax districts, leaving out TIF districts and farmland inside cities. Data from the Iowa Data Hub (Departments of Management and Revenue).