As Chaffee County residents reel from 2026 property tax bills showing average increases of 20–30% for many residential properties, it’s natural to ask: Are we getting hit harder than folks in nearby counties? The short answer is yes, often significantly harder, and the reasons tie directly to the post-Gallagher landscape. Tourism-fueled value surges in areas like ours, amplifying the pain, while more rural neighbors with slower growth see milder shocks.
The 2020 repeal of the Gallagher Amendment removed the automatic downward adjustment on residential assessment rates when home values rose faster than commercial ones. Since then, statewide residential rates have stabilized or slightly adjusted: for 2025 taxes (payable in 2026), schools use 7.05%, and local governments use 6.25% (with a new 10% subtraction on the first $700,000 of actual value for the local portion in 2026, effectively lowering it to around 6.8% in many cases after the subtraction). But actual bills hinge on home value growth from odd-year reappraisals, local mill levies, and the phase-out of prior relief, like the temporary $55,000 valuation subtraction that ended after 2024.
In Chaffee, the 2025 reappraisal (derived from sales from July 1, 2022–June 30, 2024) captured strong post-pandemic demand for mountain homes, driving significant cumulative value growth, often in the 30–40% range over recent cycles in tourism-heavy spots. Even with steady or slightly lower statewide rates, this value surge pushed bills up sharply for many: 20–30% increases aren’t uncommon, adding $400–$800+ annually on a typical $600k–$800k home, based on local assessor trends and resident reports.
Compare that to nearby rural counties, where growth has been steadier and less explosive:
- Lake County (Leadville area): Tourism exists but is less intense than Chaffee’s hotspots like Salida and Buena Vista. Residential value growth has been more moderate, leading to milder bill increases—often 10–20% or less for 2025–2026 taxes.
- Saguache County (San Luis Valley): Largely agricultural and rural with minimal tourism pressure. Value increases remain modest (often single-digit or low double-digit percentages). Property tax bills rose far less—typically 5–15%—as markets didn’t boom like in mountain resort-adjacent areas.
- Park County (Fairplay): A mix of rural, commuter, and some tourism elements, but growth lags behind Chaffee’s. Residential values started much lower than Chaffee and rose steadily but not dramatically; 2025–2026 increases often landed in the 15–25% range, below Chaffee’s higher end.
- Fremont County (Cañon City area): More rural and less tourism-driven than Chaffee, with a mix of residential, agricultural, and some commuter influence. The Fremont County Assessor expected residential value increases of about 5–10% leading into the 2025 reappraisal. Combined with the expiration of temporary relief (like the $55,000 subtraction), many saw bill increases in the 10–20% range.
Why the big difference? Chaffee’s economy and recreation: biking, hiking, rafting, hot springs, proximity to skiing, drove rapid post-COVID appreciation, especially for second homes and vacation properties. This inflated actual values in reappraisals, cranking up assessed values (and taxes) even as statewide rates held or dipped slightly. Rural neighbors with ag-focused or limited-tourism economies (like Fremont, Saguache, and parts of Lake/Park) saw steadier, lower growth (often 5–15% in the same window), resulting in smaller bill jumps.
This highlights a broader post-Gallagher truth in Colorado: Counties with high tourism or close urban proximity often bear disproportionate pain compared to big urban/suburban areas. Here’s why it shakes out that way, urban counties (like Denver metro, Boulder, or Arapahoe) have huge commercial bases full of offices, retail, industrial parks, and big businesses. When home values surge there, the overall tax revenue pool grows massively, and that commercial side helps spread the load and offset residential spikes, keeping homeowner bill increases more moderate without needing huge mill levy hikes. But in tourism-heavy rural counties like Chaffee, we get the fast residential value boom (from outsiders buying second homes or working remotely) without the deep, diverse commercial base to balance it. Our tax burden falls heavier on homes to fund schools, roads, fire, and services, making the post-repeal of Gallgher, combined with the lapse of the $55,000 buffer hit, impact us much harder. Purely rural/ag counties avoid the highest property tax increases because their values don’t spike as wildly as tourist areas.
Lessons from counties with lower hikes?
- Slower, stable growth (like ag-heavy Saguache or more moderate Fremont) avoids Chaffee-level surges.
- Local mill levies can help: Some entities held steady or cut to offset value rises.
- Targeted state relief (phasing deductions, subtractions) provides breathing room.
- Advocacy matters: Push for backfills, reforms, or Gallagher-style protections to ease rural burdens.
Chaffee’s increases aren’t just “market forces”, they’re turbocharged by the Gallagher repeal and our tourism-driven economy. We’re not alone in feeling it, but among rural Colorado counties, we’re among the hardest hit. Until reforms tackle uneven value growth and rural subsidization, expect more pain here than in adjacent counties.
Vince Phillips
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