Jenny Cureton Real Estate | Dripping Springs • Wimberley • Fredericksburg

One of the biggest surprises I see with buyers moving to the Hill Country is this. Two homes can have the same price, the same size, and feel like the same deal, but the monthly payment is not the same because the property tax rate is different.

In Dripping Springs and Wimberley, not all neighborhoods are created equally when it comes to property taxes. Your tax rate depends on which taxing jurisdictions apply to that exact address, and those jurisdictions can change from one neighborhood to the next.

If you are comparing homes and want a realistic monthly payment, you have to understand the building blocks of the tax rate.

What makes up your property tax rate

Most homes in our area are a combination of several taxing entities, such as

1. School district
2. County
3. City, if you are inside city limits
4. Emergency services district
5. Special districts like a MUD or WCID in some neighborhoods

That last piece is the one that often creates the biggest difference between neighborhoods.

The school district difference alone can be meaningful

For 2025, Dripping Springs ISD adopted a tax rate of 1.1052 per $100 of taxable value.
Wimberley ISD shows a tax rate of 1.0099 per $100 of taxable value in the Hays Central Appraisal District list of 2025 jurisdictions. https://hayscad.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-ALL-HAYS-CAD-JURISDICTIONS.pdf

That is before we even talk about MUDs, city taxes, or other districts.

City taxes can vary too

If you are in the City of Dripping Springs, the city tax rate shown in Hays CAD jurisdictions is 0.2267 per $100.
If you are in the City of Woodcreek, the city tax rate shown is 0.1828 per $100.

Not every address has a city tax, but when it does, it is part of the total.

The big one for many neighborhoods MUD taxes

A Municipal Utility District is a taxing entity that helps fund infrastructure like roads, water, wastewater, and drainage.
When a neighborhood has a MUD, that MUD tax is added on top of the other tax rates tied to the property.

Here are two examples from the Hays CAD 2025 jurisdiction list that matter for Dripping Springs buyers:

Headwaters MUD
Tax rate shown as 0.9000 per $100

Dripping Springs MUD 1
Tax rate shown as 0.7600 per $100

This is why communities like Headwaters and Caliterra are often considered higher tax areas compared to neighborhoods that do not have a MUD layer.

Lower tax areas versus higher tax areas how to think about it

Instead of memorizing one number, use this rule of thumb.

Higher property tax neighborhoods often include
Newer master planned communities with a MUD or WCID component, like Headwaters, and many homes in Caliterra type communities where a MUD layer is common.

Lower property tax neighborhoods often include
Older established neighborhoods and acreage properties that are not in a MUD, and sometimes properties outside city limits where there is no city tax layer. Popular neighborhoods like Sunset Canyon, Saratoga Hills, River Mountain Ranch, Mustang Valley, Harrison Hills, Bunker Ranch offer lower property tax rates.

Because every address is different, I do not recommend assuming a neighborhood is low tax or high tax without running the exact address through the county tax estimator and confirming the taxing units.

Why this matters for investors and for homeowners who care about resale

For investors, the tax rate impacts cash flow and your true break even. For homeowners, a higher tax rate can shrink the buyer pool at resale because monthly payment is what most buyers shop, not just price.

This is also why pricing strategy matters. If your home sits in a higher tax area, you need smart positioning and a strong launch plan so the value feels obvious to buyers the moment it hits the market.

What I do for clients as a Dripping Springs Realtor and listing agent

When I help buyers compare Dripping Springs and Wimberley, I always model taxes early so you know what you are actually signing up for monthly.

When I help sellers, I make sure we understand your competition including tax rate differences, because that affects how we price and how we market from day one.

If you want, send me the neighborhoods you are considering, or send me 2 to 3 addresses you are comparing, and I will help you spot the tax differences quickly and explain what is driving them.

Jenny Cureton
Dripping Springs Realtor
Listing Agent Dripping Springs
Wimberley Realtor