South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Aiken County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Aiken County pays $897 a year, an effective rate of 0.41%, far below the U.S. average.
- $897
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.41%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -55%
- vs U.S. average
- #42 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Aiken County pay a median $897 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.41%, more affordable than 92% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $897
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.41%
- Effective rate on median home
- #246 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -55%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($218,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 174,160. Owner-occupied homes: 53,513.
The median annual property tax in Aiken County is $897, which is 28% lower than the South Carolina state average and 55% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.41% on a median home value of $218,000. Property taxes represent 1.3% of the median household income in this county.
Aiken County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Aiken County's 0.41% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 92% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Aiken County pay a median annual property tax of $897, far below the national median and well below the South Carolina state median. On a $218,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.41% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among South Carolina counties by effective rate
Aiken County ranks #42 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (9% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Aiken County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $70,609 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Aiken County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 11.9% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 52% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 41.8%, the median bill rose 24.9% to $897: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $718 to $897, a gain of 25%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 23,172 of 53,513 owner-occupied homes (43.3%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 1.3% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Aiken County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Aiken County homeowners, 23,172 of 53,513 owner-occupied homes (43.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 43.3% (23,172)
- $800 to $1,499 27.7% (14,846)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.4% (5,541)
- $2,000 to $2,999 7.7% (4,107)
- $3,000 or more 7.3% (3,909)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,938 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Aiken County pay a substantially higher bill, 50% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Aiken County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Aiken County's effective rate is higher than 9% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #42 of 46.
Where Aiken County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.41% Among the most affordable more affordable than 92% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
Among the lowest-taxed counties in the country
At 0.41%, Aiken County sits in the lowest 8% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. A low rate does not by itself mean a low bill: the median here is $897, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Aiken County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Aiken County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.3% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Aiken County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Aiken County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $897 +4.1% | 0.41% |
| 2023 | $862 +7.1% | 0.43% |
| 2022 | $805 +8.9% | 0.44% |
| 2021 | $739 +2.9% | 0.46% |
| 2020 | $718 | 0.47% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Aiken County: tax takes only 1.3% of income
Counties near Aiken County's effective rate
On effective rate, Aiken County sits nearest Choctaw County (OK), Swain County (NC), Carson City (NV).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Dearborn County (IN), Habersham County (GA), Alpena County (MI).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Aiken County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 4,680 of 81,060 returns from Aiken County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,845 - 40% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in South Carolina
Aiken County rate FAQs
- How does Aiken County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Aiken County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.41% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Aiken County?
- Aiken County, South Carolina scores B+ (79/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is rate relief at A+ (0.41%). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in Aiken County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Aiken County is $897, an effective rate of 0.41% on a $218,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Aiken County?
- Property taxes in Aiken County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $70,609 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Aiken County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Aiken County jumped 24.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $718 to $897, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
What to do with Aiken County's QUIET rate
Aiken County's $897 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is light here: about 1.3% of Aiken County's $70,609 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Aiken County's QUIET effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.41%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $897/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Aiken County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Aiken County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Hampton County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Aiken County at $897/yr; rate 0.80% vs Aiken County 0.41%.
Cocke County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $898/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.57% vs Aiken County 0.41%.
Greene County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $896/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.58% vs Aiken County 0.41%.
Oconee County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $899/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.38% vs Aiken County 0.41%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Aiken County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Aiken County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.