Eastern Plains
Prowers County
Property taxes, marriage licenses, vehicle services, and many public records run through Prowers County. Permits and local rules may sit with a town or city instead, so match the office to the exact address.
Official county shortcuts
Take the task to the office that handles it
These links go straight to the official county or regional office shown. Check that page for current documents, hours, appointments, fees, and address-specific instructions. A city may run its own permit office.
Property tax snapshot
Typical property tax in Prowers County
The average total mill levy across Prowers County was about 65.9 mills for tax year 2023 — below the statewide average of about 81 mills. On a $500,000 home, that comes to roughly $2,149 a year, using Colorado's 2026 residential rules: 7.05% on school mills, and 6.8% on the rest after the local actual-value adjustment.
This is the county average across all tax areas. Your parcel's actual mill levy depends on its exact tax area — a metro or special district can add many mills on top — so confirm the real number with the county assessor.
Sales tax: the state charges 2.9% and Prowers County adds 1%, for 3.9% before any city or special district. See Colorado sales tax rates ->
Source: Colorado Division of Property Taxation, 53rd Annual Report (2023) — Average Levies by County.
Incorporated places in this county
These cities and towns touch Prowers County. Some cross a county line. Every name opens a direct place page, and selected places include a fuller local guide.
Get to know Prowers County
The history, land, and character behind the place.
History and culture
Amache, near Granada, is a place to visit with care
Near Granada in Prowers County, Amache is the site of a World War II incarceration camp for Japanese Americans, now part of the National Park System.
Read note ->Water and land
In the Arkansas Valley, a Prowers County well sits in a busy water basin
Prowers County is in the Arkansas River basin, where the state administers groundwater closely and some wells must be measured.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Each winter, snow geese rest on the plains near Lamar
Prowers County's reservoirs and grain fields near Lamar are a winter stop on the Central Flyway, where flocks of snow geese roost and feed during migration.
Read note ->Water and land
Around Lamar, ditch water and tap water are two different things
Farm and rural parcels in the Lower Arkansas Valley often carry irrigation ditch shares that are separate from the household water supply.
Read note ->Money and taxes (6)
Money and taxes
Building materials can create a Prowers County use-tax chore
Building materials bought outside Prowers County and delivered to a project inside it can owe a county consumer use tax.
Read note ->Money and taxes
The Prowers County Treasurer collects taxes, not the property value
In Prowers County the Treasurer collects and distributes property taxes; the Assessor handles the value behind the bill.
Read note ->Home and property (5)
Home and property
Check Prowers County floodplain permits before changing a site
Site work near mapped flood risk in Prowers County may need a Floodplain Development Permit before you grade, fill, or build.
Read note ->Home and property
Prowers County driveway access needs more than a path through the fence
A Prowers County driveway must be suitable for emergency vehicles, and a new state-highway approach needs CDOT approval.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire (4)
Outdoors and wildfire
Lamar throws a four-day festival for the snow geese each February
Every February, Lamar hosts the High Plains Snow Goose Festival, a four-day birding event with guided field trips, expert talks, a photo contest, and a craft fair built around the winter migration.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
A State Wildlife Area in Prowers County is not the same as a park
State Wildlife Areas in Prowers County have their own access rules and generally require a hunting or fishing license or an SWA pass to enter.
Read note ->Cars and driving (1)
Local rules (5)
Local rules
A change from irrigated land can trigger Prowers County 1041 review
In Prowers County, changing historically irrigated land to another use can trigger a local 1041 permit review tied to water rights.
Read note ->Local rules
A Prowers County zoning permit is not a building permit
A Prowers County zoning permit governs use, setbacks, density, and floodplain, and is a separate question from a building permit.
Read note ->History and culture (6)
History and culture
The name Prowers, and the Cheyenne woman behind Amache
Prowers County is named for rancher John Prowers, and the name Amache traces to his wife, the Cheyenne woman Amache Ochinee Prowers.
Read note ->History and culture
Big Timbers and Bent's New Fort: history near Lamar
The Arkansas River near Lamar was once a cottonwood grove called Big Timbers, the site of Bent's New Fort and a meeting ground rich with deep history.
Read note ->Nearby counties
Other Eastern Plains counties — rules, rates, and districts shift across county lines.