Skip to content
PropTaxRates
Menu

Methodology and sources

PropTaxRates turns the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey into a page per county, so you can see what homeowners there actually pay in property tax.

What we publish

  • Effective property tax rate: aggregate real estate taxes paid by owner-occupied homes (table B25090) ÷ the aggregate value of those homes (B25082), 2020–2024 5-year estimates. This weights each home by its value, so it equals total taxes ÷ total value.
  • Margin of error: the Census Bureau’s published 90% margins for both totals, combined with the bureau’s standard formula for a ratio.
  • Median tax and home value: tables B25103 and B25077, with the split by mortgage status. The Census Bureau top-codes medians (for example “$10,000+” for taxes), and we show them that way.
  • Owner-occupied homes and ownership share: table B25003.
  • Comparison: the 2019–2023 5-year survey, the one before. Both surveys share four years of responses, so differences are small and partly sampling noise.

What we flag

Counties with fewer than 500 owner-occupied homes, or a rate margin of error above 25% of the rate, carry a “small sample” note, are left out of rankings and are kept out of search results. Counties with no published estimate show the state rate only. Puerto Rico is not covered. In Connecticut the Census Bureau now reports planning regions instead of the old counties.

How we build it

A script downloads the Census Bureau’s bulk summary files (no API), records each file’s date and checksum, and rebuilds every page. Nothing is typed by hand. We rebuild when the bureau releases a new 5-year survey, usually in December or January.

Sources

  • U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table-based summary file: B25090 (aggregate real estate taxes), B25082 (aggregate home value), B25103 (median real estate taxes), B25077 (median home value) and B25003 (tenure); files dated January 29, 2026.
  • U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates, same tables (files dated October 31, 2024), for the comparison column.
  • Geography names: Census Bureau Geos20245YR.txt (file dated January 22, 2026).

Who we are

PropTaxRates is a free reference site run by Olsen Industries. We are not a tax assessor, tax collector or government agency, and we don’t sell your information. Questions or corrections: [email protected].