If Johnson County held its tax rate flat, why will so many statements arriving in mid-November show a bigger number? For anyone choosing between Overland Park, Leawood, Shawnee or Mission Hills right now, the answer is in the county's budget and its February valuation notices.
The Rate Held, So the Value Did the Moving
On September 3, 2026, the Board of County Commissioners adopted the FY2027 budget with a flat tax rate. The county's announcement puts the published mill levy at 24.119. It projects 24.130 once valuations are confirmed after appeals. Total budget growth was held to 0.37%, and the county taxing district added no new tax-funded positions.
Look at what that flat rate actually covers. The Johnson County Post reported the 6–1 vote and noted that the county, library and parks together make up about 20% of a typical property tax bill. The rest of the bill comes from other taxing bodies. Every one of those rates is applied to the same base, your assessed valuation, and that base comes from your appraised value. In the county's own example, reported by the Post, the average home with a $536,000 market value carries an assessed valuation of $61,640, and that is the figure property taxes are calculated against.
So for most homeowners, the year-over-year change on a statement mostly reflects the valuation notice that arrived back in February. That notice was not uniform across the county.
Your City Choice Moved the Needle More Than the Rate Did
The County Appraiser mailed 2026 valuation notices on February 25. Values are set as of January 1 and built on 2025 sales. Countywide, the average residential reappraisal rose 5.92%, excluding apartments. That's down slightly from 6.08% in 2025 and 6.40% in 2024.
The 2026 revaluation report breaks that figure out by city, and the spread is wide:
| City | Change in all residential value, 2025 to 2026 | Average single-family appraised value, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Olathe | 5.4% | $457,425 |
| Overland Park | 5.7% | $555,643 |
| Leawood | 6.4% | $887,997 |
| Lenexa | 6.4% | $518,673 |
| Prairie Village | 7.6% | $608,570 |
| Shawnee | 7.8% | $455,393 |
| Mission Hills | 10.2% | $1,809,149 |
Compare Shawnee and Olathe. Their average single-family values sit within a few thousand dollars of each other, yet Shawnee's residential values rose 7.8% and Olathe's rose 5.4%. With a flat county rate, a family comparing similar homes in those two cities is looking at different starting points for next year's bill. The percentages above are city averages, not medians, so any one house can land well above or below its city's figure. The county says about 68% of residential values either rose 7% or less or went down.
The Bottom of the Ladder Emptied as Homes Moved Up
In the single-family value tiers, new construction included, total appraised value in the under-$150,000 tier fell 50.5% from 2025 to 2026. The $150,000 to $300,000 tier fell 19.0%. Read alone, those numbers look like a collapse at the low end.
Those homes did not lose half their worth. They left the tier. The Johnson County Post reported that the number of homes appraised under $150,000 dropped from 315 to 152. Appreciation lifted them into the next band. The same thing happened one rung up, and every tier from $500,000 upward grew:
- $500,000 to $650,000: up 12.0%
- $650,000 to $800,000: up 12.2%
- $800,000 to $950,000: up 19.2%
- $950,000 to $1,100,000: up 15.6%
- $1,100,000 and above: up 20.2%
Those tier totals include homes that moved up from the band below, so they overstate how much any single house gained. Still, the direction is clear. Value is piling up at the top of the ladder, which is why the countywide average rises faster than many individual homes do, and why a buyer in the upper tiers should expect the county's headline figures to describe someone else's house.
What the Appraiser Sees and What You Paid Are Different Numbers
State law requires the Appraiser to value homes at fair market value as of January 1, within 90% to 110% of sale prices in the county. In 2026 the average Johnson County home was appraised at $536,000, while new and existing homes sold for an average of $583,000 in 2025.
The city tables show how far apart those two measures can drift. In Mission Hills, average single-family appraised value rose 10.2% while the average sale price jumped 27.5%. In Spring Hill it ran the other way: appraised value up 14.1%, average sale price down 1.6%. Small cities swing hardest because a handful of sales sets the average. Mission Woods posted an 89.7% jump in average sale price.
Checking this on your own is harder in Kansas than buyers from other states expect. The state collects sale prices through its Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire, which has a field for total sale price. But Kansas law limits who can see what's on those questionnaires and why, so a neighbor's purchase price is generally not public the way it is in many states. Comparing a home's appraisal to the market usually takes MLS sales data rather than a county lookup.
The 2026 Sales That Will Feed the Next Notice
Because January 1 values are built on the prior year's sales, the market happening now is the raw material for the 2027 notices. The Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors' September 2026 report for Johnson County, current as of October 7, shows:
| Metric, Johnson County | September 2025 | September 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed sales | 779 | 767 | −1.5% |
| Average sale price | $555,690 | $582,257 | +4.8% |
| Median sale price | $462,000 | $470,000 | +1.7% |
| Days on market | 35 | 36 | +2.9% |
| Months of supply | 2.3 | 2.2 | −4.3% |
| Pending sales | 798 | 655 | −17.9% |
Year to date through September, the average sale price is up 2.8% and the median is up 1.9%. In September alone, the average grew nearly three times as fast as the median. That gap is the tier table showing up again in live sales. Higher-priced sales are pulling the average up, while the typical home is gaining more slowly. Pending sales fell 17.9% year over year in September, which is something to watch as the year closes, since those contracts become the last of the 2026 sales the Appraiser will use.
A Question to Ask Before You Write an Offer
This year, a home's appeal history became more useful to know. Governor Laura Kelly signed HB 2644 on April 6, 2026. It took effect when it was published in the statute book, and the Secretary of State's 2026 Session Laws, Book 1 carries a July 1, 2026 publication date.
Under the enrolled text, when a residential value is lowered by a final appeal determination made on or after January 1, 2026, the appraiser reviews that property for the next five taxable years. If its value would rise more than 5% over the prior year in any of those years, the appraiser must either adjust it based on the information from the appeal or order an independent fee simple appraisal by a Kansas certified appraiser. New construction, change in use and change in classification are excluded. The statute defines new construction to include remodeling or renovation of existing structures.
That makes two facts worth asking about on any Johnson County home you're considering: whether it had a successful appeal in 2026, and whether a renovation is planned. Appeals were down this year. As of March 26, commission chair Mike Kelly told KSHB that about 3,500 owners had appealed so far, compared with about 6,600 the year before, and that about 45% of appellants succeeded.
HB 2644 is not a general cap. A proposed constitutional limit on assessed-value increases, SCR 1603, died on April 9 when the House did not adopt its conference report on a 69–54 vote. The only constitutional amendment on the November 3 ballot, according to the Kansas Secretary of State, concerns voter eligibility.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm how any of these rules applies to your property with a tax professional, an attorney or the County Appraiser's office.
The Dates Between Now and May
- Mid-November 2026: Johnson County mails first-installment tax statements. The state property tax calendar sets December 1 as the treasurer's deadline to send them.
- Monday, December 21, 2026: The first-half or full payment is due. The statute sets December 20, which falls on a Sunday this year, and moves a weekend due date to the next business day.
- May 10, 2027: The second-half payment is due under the same statute.
- By March 1, 2027: State law requires the Appraiser to mail the next valuation notices, which will reflect 2026 sales.
FAQ
Does the county's flat rate mean my bill stays the same? No. The flat rate covers the county's share, which together with the library and parks is about 20% of a typical bill. Every rate on the bill is applied to your assessed valuation, which is derived from your appraised value. If your appraised value rose, your bill can rise even with no rate change.
Will my bill match the price I paid? Not necessarily. Your bill is based on the Appraiser's January 1 market value, which state law requires to fall within 90% to 110% of sale prices countywide, not on your contract price.
Is there a cap on how fast values can rise in Kansas? There's no general cap. SCR 1603 failed in April 2026. HB 2644 adds a five-year review only for properties whose value was lowered through a final appeal on or after January 1, 2026.
If you want to know how your home's appraised value compares with what it would likely sell for today, Sweeney Team KC can compare it with recent MLS sales in your city and price tier, the data the county lookup won't show you. Get your free instant home valuation, and we'll walk through the numbers together before the next notice arrives in the spring.
