During the fourth quarter of 2025, property owners in DeForest paid property taxes at a rate of 1.4% of their home’s value, over 1.6 times greater than the national average, according to BlockShopper.com.
DeForest’s median home sales price during the same period was $445,000, with 62 homes sold. The city’s median tax bill for 2025 reached $6,307, reflecting 1.4% of the median assessed value for properties with tax liabilities.
The nationwide average effective property tax rate stood at 0.888% in 2024.
Within Dane County, Dane itself reported the area’s highest property tax rate.
This article’s calculation of DeForest’s 2025 effective property tax rate uses estimated inflation figures and 2024 county tax data. Actual property tax rates may differ slightly for some residents.
National home prices kept increasing throughout 2025, reaching a median of around $447,000 in June, which is a 1.13% rise from the prior year, according to Redfin. Their research also reveals supply and demand remain out of balance, with 36% more homes up for sale than buyers—508,715 homes of difference. Redfin considers a market balanced if sellers and buyers are within 10% of each other.
The table below offers a comparison of Dane and other cities in Dane County based on their median effective property tax rates, using sales and tax figures from the fourth quarter of 2025.
| City | Q4 2025 Sales | Q4 2025 Median Price | Median tax 2025 | Effective tax rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dane | 10 | $250,000 | $5,872 | 2.3% |
| Marshall | 11 | $260,000 | $4,989 | 1.9% |
| Sun Prairie | 161 | $370,000 | $6,936 | 1.9% |
| Belleville | 8 | $284,757 | $5,315 | 1.9% |
| Fitchburg | 114 | $425,000 | $7,819 | 1.8% |
| Cottage Grove | 45 | $390,000 | $7,083 | 1.8% |
| Verona | 72 | $419,950 | $7,247 | 1.7% |
| Madison | 1,125 | $415,000 | $6,874 | 1.7% |
| Deerfield | 20 | $272,500 | $4,546 | 1.7% |
| Cambridge | 10 | $328,500 | $5,333 | 1.6% |
| Middleton | 91 | $499,000 | $7,912 | 1.6% |
| Maple Bluff | 10 | $965,600 | $15,145 | 1.6% |
| Stoughton | 82 | $358,000 | $5,568 | 1.6% |
| Mount Horeb | 31 | $407,099 | $6,125 | 1.5% |
| McFarland | 42 | $443,100 | $6,840 | 1.5% |
| Cross Plains | 19 | $400,000 | $5,831 | 1.5% |
| Mazomanie | 11 | $300,000 | $4,468 | 1.5% |
| Waunakee | 78 | $525,100 | $7,806 | 1.5% |
| Windsor | 30 | $479,637 | $6,807 | 1.4% |
| DeForest | 62 | $445,000 | $6,307 | 1.4% |
| Shorewood Hills | 6 | $1,115,000 | $15,915 | 1.4% |
| Black Earth | 10 | $325,830 | $4,650 | 1.4% |
| Brooklyn | 7 | $395,000 | $5,591 | 1.4% |
| Blue Mounds | 3 | $380,000 | $5,498 | 1.4% |
| Oregon | 71 | $484,844 | $6,709 | 1.4% |