South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Beaufort County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Beaufort County pays $2,174 a year, an effective rate of 0.48%, modestly above the U.S. average.
- $2,174
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.48%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- +9%
- vs U.S. average
- #28 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Beaufort County pay a median $2,174 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.48%, more affordable than 85% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,174
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.48%
- Effective rate on median home
- #459 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 ($455,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 195,289. Owner-occupied homes: 62,527.
The median annual property tax in Beaufort County is $2,174, which is 74% higher than the South Carolina state average and 9% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.48% on a median home value of $455,600. Property taxes represent 2.5% of the median household income in this county.
Beaufort County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Beaufort County's 0.48% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 85%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits above the South Carolina median
Homeowners in Beaufort County pay a median annual property tax of $2,174, modestly above the national median and far above the South Carolina state median. On a $455,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.48% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of South Carolina counties by effective rate
Beaufort County ranks #28 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (39% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Beaufort County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $86,573 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Beaufort 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 6.4% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 73% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 47.2%, the median bill rose 37.7% to $2,174: 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 38% from $1,579 to $2,174. 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: 21,390 of 62,527 owner-occupied homes (34.2%) 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.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 2.5% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
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 Beaufort County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Beaufort County homeowners, 21,390 of 62,527 owner-occupied homes (34.2%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 11.7% (7,336)
- $800 to $1,499 21.2% (13,253)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.9% (8,059)
- $2,000 to $2,999 17.8% (11,130)
- $3,000 or more 34.2% (21,390)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,359 homes here (2.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Beaufort County, mortgaged homeowners pay 14% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Beaufort County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Beaufort County's effective rate is higher than 39% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #28 of 46.
Where Beaufort County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.48% Among the most affordable more affordable than 85% 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 Beaufort County moved from $1,579 in the 2020 release to $2,174 in 2024, a change of about 38%. 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.
Beaufort County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Beaufort County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-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.
Beaufort County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Beaufort County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,174 +7.5% | 0.48% |
| 2023 | $2,022 +4.9% | 0.50% |
| 2022 | $1,928 +12.9% | 0.51% |
| 2021 | $1,707 +8.1% | 0.52% |
| 2020 | $1,579 | 0.51% |
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.
Beaufort County: tax-to-income at 2.5%
Counties near Beaufort County's effective rate
On effective rate, Beaufort County sits nearest Curry County (OR), Okfuskee County (OK), Adair County (OK).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Preston County (WV), Sibley County (MN), Brevard County (FL).
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
Beaufort County: only 11% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 10,990 of 98,680 returns from Beaufort County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,407 - 41% 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 South Carolina
Beaufort County rate FAQs
- How does Beaufort County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Beaufort County run modestly above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.48% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Beaufort County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Beaufort County is $2,174, an effective rate of 0.48% on a $455,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Beaufort County?
- Beaufort County, South Carolina scores C- (53/100) 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 (0.48%). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Beaufort County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Beaufort County jumped 37.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,579 to $2,174, 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 Beaufort County?
- Property taxes in Beaufort County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $86,573 median household income.
What to do with Beaufort County's QUIET rate
Inside South Carolina, Beaufort County's $2,174 median bill runs high versus the state median - compare the rest of the state before judging the burden. South Carolina overview →
Beaufort County ranks #28 of 46 South Carolina counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. South Carolina overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Beaufort 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: 0.48%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,174/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Beaufort County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Beaufort County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Guilford County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Beaufort County at $2,174/yr; rate 0.84% vs Beaufort County 0.48%.
Uvalde County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,173/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.44% vs Beaufort County 0.48%.
Dawson County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,172/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.31% vs Beaufort County 0.48%.
Sheridan County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,177/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.55% vs Beaufort County 0.48%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Beaufort 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 Beaufort County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.