Bob Thompson, Cook County Assessor. Photo provided

From Cook County, MN - March 28, 2025

By: Bob Thompson, Cook County Assessor

In the coming weeks, Cook County Property Owners will receive their 2025 Property Tax Statements and 2025 Valuation Notice. The 2025 Valuation Notice contains important information on the Assessor’s current estimated market value & classification and will provide instructions on how a taxpayer can appeal if they feel the assessment information is incorrect. Changes reflected on the 2025 Valuation Notice may impact your 2026 taxes, based on budgets that are set in the fall of 2025.

For those of you I haven’t met, I’m in my eighth year working in the Assessor’s Office, and my fifth year as the County Assessor. I share my office with three great coworkers who are ready to help answer questions related to your property assessment. We do our best to ensure that properties are valued accurately so that the costs of local government are distributed fairly and according to state laws. I’ve implemented many changes to the way Cook County property records are collected and how the items that contribute to your property value are accounted for in those records. I’m the current Vice President of the Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers and I serve on their Legislative Committee for the Northeastern region of Minnesota. I take pride in the work that I do, and I’m committed to constant improvement to the assessment data in Cook County.

For the 2025 assessment, the overall valuation increase in Cook County was about 6%. Since 2019, Cook County property values are up about 86% collectively.

Our real estate market remains strong with demand still outpacing supply. Currently there are just 28 properties available to purchase in Cook County which are not currently under contract. Only 14 of the available listings have a structure. Of the 14 improved properties available, roughly half were built to be rented through a resort for short-term lodging. The lowest priced home, at $425k was formally a funeral home that sold for $175k in 2019, it’s currently listed as having potential to be a mixed-use home and business. The lowest priced cabin, at $469k is a small cabin on a lake, it sold for $142k in 2019. One of those examples had extensive updating since the 2019 sale price, the other doesn’t appear to have changed much since the last sale.

The scarcity of active listings has resulted in a reduced number of sales over recent years. Between 2015 and 2021 the average number of sales in Cook County was 316, with a low of 270 in 2015 and a high of 353 in 2017. The number of real estate transactions increased drastically in 2021, to 598 sales. The number of sales in the current study was just 288 sales. The spike followed by the recent drop in the number of transactions occurred in both Lake and St. Louis Counties as well.

The last trend worth mentioning is what’s happening with Rural Vacant Land in Cook County. Rural Vacant Land is land that has never been subdivided or developed and is typically 40-acres or more. These types of properties, particularly in the West-end of Cook County, have seen increased demand and increasing sale prices. Cook County properties that are in a zoning district which allows for subdivision will typically fetch higher sale prices. Cook County properties that fall into these categories will see higher than 6% increases for the 2025 assessment, some are up 20% on the land valuation.

Since most Cook County property values have increased for the 2025 assessment, how will that affect future property tax bills?

There is a common misconception that increasing property values means local governments collect more tax revenue, this is not the case. The amount of tax dollars levied has a direct correlation to operational expenses of the levying authorities (County, City/Twp., School, Hospital) and any related increases over the previous budget. Think of the total budget as ‘the price of the pie’, then each property’s assessed value & classification could be thought of as its slice of the pie’.

Several options may exist for Cook County residents who see increases to their tax bill, the Minnesota property tax refund programs, and the senior citizen property tax deferral, to name a few. These programs are for owner-occupied properties with a homestead classification, and individuals that pay rent. One refund is based off income, the other ‘special refund’ is based off the amount of tax increase over the previous year. Talk to your tax professional or visit the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s website for more information on the M1PR form. This form is due August 15, but you may be able to file up to one year after the due date.

I encourage all homesteaded taxpayers to complete and submit the property tax refund forms to the Department of Revenue every year, even if you have not qualified in the past.

Additional information can be found on the Cook County Assessor’s webpage.

County Connections is a column on timely topics and service information from your Cook County government. Cook County – Supporting Community Through Quality Public Service