Why Two Randall County Homes a Mile Apart Pay Different Taxes

The line on a Randall County tax bill labeled "county" is only one of several. Stack on top of it the school district (Canyon, Amarillo, Bushland, Happy, or Wildorado, depending on where you sit) plus a city rate if you're inside Canyon, Amarillo, Happy, or one of the canyon-rim villages like Palisades or Timbercreek Canyon.

Then come the special districts that quietly add their own pennies: the Amarillo Junior College District, the South Randall County Hospital District, the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 that watches over the Ogallala, and on some accounts the Tierra Blanca MUD No. 1 or the Boatwright-Trew Road District. The Randall County Tax Office in Canyon collects for most of these under interlocal agreements, so one check covers several units at once.

This is why two similar houses a mile apart can carry noticeably different bills, with one falling inside a city and a hospital district and the other not. When you're comparing homes in Canyon, south Amarillo, or out in the county, don't compare the county rate. Pull the full list of taxing units attached to that exact parcel, because that stack is what you'll actually pay.