South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Berkeley County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Berkeley County pays $1,400 a year, an effective rate of 0.45%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,400
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.45%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -30%
- vs U.S. average
- #32 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Berkeley County pay a median $1,400 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.45%, more affordable than 89% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,400
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.45%
- Effective rate on median home
- #359 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -30%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($310,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 246,802. Owner-occupied homes: 69,861.
The median annual property tax in Berkeley County is $1,400, which is 12% higher than the South Carolina state average and 30% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.45% on a median home value of $310,300. Property taxes represent 1.7% of the median household income in this county.
Berkeley County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Berkeley County's 0.45% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 89%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Berkeley County pay a median annual property tax of $1,400, well below the national median and notably higher than the South Carolina state median. On a $310,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.45% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Berkeley County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.7% of the $84,358 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of South Carolina counties by effective rate
Berkeley County ranks #32 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (30% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Berkeley 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Berkeley County's effective rate fell 15.6% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 57.3%, leaving the median bill 32.7% higher at $1,400. That rate move is larger than the one in 67% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 33% from $1,055 to $1,400. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 23,127 of 69,861 owner-occupied homes (33.1%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 1.7% 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 Berkeley County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Berkeley County homeowners, 23,127 of 69,861 owner-occupied homes (33.1%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 19.9% (13,883)
- $800 to $1,499 33.1% (23,127)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.9% (11,142)
- $2,000 to $2,999 13.1% (9,152)
- $3,000 or more 14.0% (9,769)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,788 homes here (4.0%) 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 Berkeley County pay a substantially higher bill, 51% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Berkeley County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Berkeley County's effective rate is higher than 30% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #32 of 46.
Where Berkeley County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.45% Among the most affordable more affordable than 89% 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 Berkeley County moved from $1,055 in the 2020 release to $1,400 in 2024, a change of about 33%. 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.
Berkeley County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Berkeley County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.7% | - | - |
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.
Berkeley County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Berkeley County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,400 +4.2% | 0.45% |
| 2023 | $1,343 +4.8% | 0.48% |
| 2022 | $1,282 +9.6% | 0.51% |
| 2021 | $1,170 +10.9% | 0.54% |
| 2020 | $1,055 | 0.53% |
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.
Berkeley County: tax takes only 1.7% of income
Counties near Berkeley County's effective rate
On effective rate, Berkeley County sits nearest Transylvania County (NC), Torrance County (NM), Roosevelt County (NM).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Bonneville County (ID), Steele County (MN), Monroe County (MO).
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
Berkeley County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 8,490 of 119,930 returns from Berkeley County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,321 - 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 South Carolina
Berkeley County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Berkeley County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Berkeley County is $1,400, an effective rate of 0.45% on a $310,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Berkeley County?
- Berkeley County, South Carolina scores B- (65/100) 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 (0.45%). 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 Berkeley County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Berkeley County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.45% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Berkeley County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Berkeley County jumped 32.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,055 to $1,400, 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 Berkeley County?
- Property taxes in Berkeley County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.7% of the $84,358 median household income.
What to do with Berkeley County's QUIET rate
Berkeley County's $1,400 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 1.7% of Berkeley County's $84,358 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Berkeley 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: 0.45%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,400/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Berkeley County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Berkeley County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Grady County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Berkeley County at $1,400/yr; rate 0.68% vs Berkeley County 0.45%.
Nacogdoches County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,399/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.83% vs Berkeley County 0.45%.
Berkeley County, WV
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,398/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.52% vs Berkeley County 0.45%.
Fremont County, ID
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,398/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.44% vs Berkeley County 0.45%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Berkeley 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 Berkeley County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.