Maryland · County property tax · ACS 2024
Baltimore County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Baltimore County pays $3,736 a year, an effective rate of 1.07%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,736
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.07%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +87%
- vs U.S. average
- #4 of 24
- rank in MD
The verdict
Homeowners in Baltimore County pay a median $3,736 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.07%, more affordable than 30% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,736
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.07%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2185 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +87%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($349,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Maryland. Population: 850,796. Owner-occupied homes: 220,908.
The median annual property tax in Baltimore County is $3,736, which is 9% lower than the Maryland state average and 87% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.07% on a median home value of $349,300. Property taxes represent 4.1% of the median household income in this county.
Why Baltimore County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Baltimore County pay a median annual property tax of $3,736, far above the national median and modestly below the Maryland state median. On a $349,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.07% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Maryland counties by effective rate
Baltimore County ranks #4 of 24 counties in Maryland by effective rate (83% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Baltimore County's 1.07% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 30%).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Baltimore County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.1% of the $91,768 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Baltimore 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 10.5% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 58% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 30.6%, the median bill rose 16.9% to $3,736: 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 $3,197 to $3,736, a gain of 17%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 142,829 of 220,908 owner-occupied homes (64.7%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 4.1% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 Baltimore County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Baltimore County homeowners, 142,829 of 220,908 owner-occupied homes (64.7%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 2.2% (4,831)
- $800 to $1,499 3.4% (7,432)
- $1,500 to $1,999 5.5% (12,094)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.5% (43,177)
- $3,000 or more 64.7% (142,829)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
10,545 homes here (4.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Maryland handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Baltimore County pay about the same bill, a 2% gap.
Baltimore County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Baltimore County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Baltimore County's median bill is 9% below the Maryland median and 87% above the U.S. median.
Baltimore County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Baltimore County | Maryland Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.1% | - | - |
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.
Is Baltimore County's $3,736 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Baltimore County's $3,736 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $374/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Maryland.
Baltimore County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,736 +2.5% | 1.07% |
| 2023 | $3,645 +2.4% | 1.10% |
| 2022 | $3,561 +7.2% | 1.15% |
| 2021 | $3,321 +3.9% | 1.20% |
| 2020 | $3,197 | 1.20% |
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.
Baltimore County: tax takes 4.1% of income
Counties near Baltimore County's median bill
On effective rate, Baltimore County sits nearest Doniphan County (KS), Plymouth County (IA), Randolph County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Oneida County (ID), Trumbull County (OH), Paulding County (OH).
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
Baltimore County: only 15% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 62,110 of 422,230 returns from Baltimore County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,448 - 34% 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 Maryland
Baltimore County bill FAQs
- How does Baltimore County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Baltimore County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.07% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Baltimore County, Maryland?
- The median annual property tax in Baltimore County is $3,736, an effective rate of 1.07% on a $349,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Baltimore County?
- Baltimore County, Maryland scores F (29/100) 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 mortgage premium at A- (+$77). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Baltimore County?
- Property taxes in Baltimore County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.1% of the $91,768 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Baltimore County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Baltimore County climbed 16.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,197 to $3,736, 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 Baltimore County's HEAVY bill
Baltimore County's $3,736 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Baltimore County ranks #4 of 24 Maryland counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Maryland overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Baltimore County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.07%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,736/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Baltimore County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Baltimore County (PAR · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR HEAVY
Cayuga County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,740/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 2.19% vs Baltimore County 1.07%.
Miami-Dade County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,744/yr (near-tied bill ABS $8); rate 0.81% vs Baltimore County 1.07%.
Dakota County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,749/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 0.98% vs Baltimore County 1.07%.
St. Johns County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,721/yr (near-tied bill ABS $15); rate 0.76% vs Baltimore County 1.07%.
Maryland county set
State ACS overview for every published Maryland county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Baltimore County stamps PAR · HEAVY - 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 Baltimore County (PAR · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.