Florida · County property tax · ACS 2024
Bay County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Bay County pays $1,807 a year, an effective rate of 0.58%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,807
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.58%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -9%
- vs U.S. average
- #56 of 67
- rank in FL
The verdict
Homeowners in Bay County pay a median $1,807 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.58%, more affordable than 74% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,807
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.58%
- Effective rate on median home
- #816 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -9%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($310,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Florida. Population: 186,393. Owner-occupied homes: 52,660.
The median annual property tax in Bay County is $1,807, which is 34% lower than the Florida state average and 9% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.58% on a median home value of $310,500. Property taxes represent 2.5% of the median household income in this county.
Bay County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Bay County's 0.58% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 74%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Florida median
Homeowners in Bay County pay a median annual property tax of $1,807, modestly below the national median and well below the Florida state median. On a $310,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.58% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Florida counties by effective rate
Bay County ranks #56 of 67 counties in Florida by effective rate (16% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Bay County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $73,533 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Bay 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 11.1% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 55% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 59.2%, the median bill rose 41.5% to $1,807: 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 42% from $1,277 to $1,807. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 11,370 of 52,660 owner-occupied homes (21.6%) 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.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 2.5% 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 Bay County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Bay County homeowners, 11,370 of 52,660 owner-occupied homes (21.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 19.7% (10,359)
- $800 to $1,499 19.3% (10,164)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.7% (5,631)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.8% (10,427)
- $3,000 or more 21.6% (11,370)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
4,709 homes here (8.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Florida handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Bay County pay a substantially higher bill, 37% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Bay County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Bay County's effective rate is higher than 16% of the 67 counties in Florida - ranking #56 of 67.
Where Bay County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.58% Among the most affordable more affordable than 74% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Bay County moved from $1,277 in the 2020 release to $1,807 in 2024, a change of about 42%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Bay County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Bay County | Florida Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.5% | - | - |
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.
Bay County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Florida counties.
Bay County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,807 +9.3% | 0.58% |
| 2023 | $1,653 +12.1% | 0.60% |
| 2022 | $1,475 +10.4% | 0.60% |
| 2021 | $1,336 +4.6% | 0.64% |
| 2020 | $1,277 | 0.65% |
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.
Bay County: tax-to-income at 2.5%
Counties near Bay County's effective rate
On effective rate, Bay County sits nearest District of Columbia (DC), Kiowa County (CO), Trinity County (CA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Ohio County (IN), Skamania County (WA), Perry 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
Bay County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 3,760 of 92,270 returns from Bay County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,234 - 34% of those reporters sat in the $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 Florida
Bay County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Bay County, Florida?
- The median annual property tax in Bay County is $1,807, an effective rate of 0.58% on a $310,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Bay County?
- Bay County, Florida scores D (49/100) 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 B (0.58%). 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.
- How does Bay County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Bay County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.58% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Bay County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Bay County jumped 41.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,277 to $1,807, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Bay County?
- Property taxes in Bay County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $73,533 median household income.
What to do with Bay County's QUIET rate
Inside Florida, Bay County's $1,807 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Florida overview →
Bay County ranks #56 of 67 Florida counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Florida overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Bay 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: 0.58%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,807/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Bay County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Bay County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Northampton County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Bay County at $1,807/yr; rate 0.57% vs Bay County 0.58%.
Perry County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Bay County at $1,807/yr; rate 1.60% vs Bay County 0.58%.
Crawford County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,806/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.49% vs Bay County 0.58%.
Hancock County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,806/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.66% vs Bay County 0.58%.
Florida county set
State ACS overview for every published Florida county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Bay County stamps QUIET · MID - 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 Bay County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.