Rhode Island · County property tax · ACS 2024
Bristol County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Bristol County pays $6,648 a year, an effective rate of 1.29%, far above the U.S. average.
- $6,648
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.29%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +234%
- vs U.S. average
- #2 of 5
- rank in RI
The verdict
Homeowners in Bristol County pay a median $6,648 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.29%, more affordable than 19% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $6,648
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.29%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2533 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +234%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($513,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Rhode Island. Population: 50,490. Owner-occupied homes: 14,439.
The median annual property tax in Bristol County is $6,648, which is 36% higher than the Rhode Island state average and 234% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.29% on a median home value of $513,800. Property taxes represent 5.8% of the median household income in this county.
Why Bristol County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Bristol County pay a median annual property tax of $6,648, far above the national median and well above the Rhode Island state median. On a $513,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.29% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Bristol County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.8% of the $114,490 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Bristol County's 1.29% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 19%).
Decision signal 4
Low among Rhode Island counties by effective rate
Bristol County ranks #2 of 5 counties in Rhode Island by effective rate (60% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Bristol 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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Bristol County rose 41.0%, from $364,500 to $513,800. The effective rate fell 19.4% over the same span, a steeper move than in 80% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 13.7%, to $6,648. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 $5,849 to $6,648, a gain of 14%. 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: 13,205 of 14,439 owner-occupied homes (91.5%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 5.8% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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 Bristol County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Bristol County homeowners, 13,205 of 14,439 owner-occupied homes (91.5%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 0.9% (123)
- $800 to $1,499 2.1% (310)
- $1,500 to $1,999 0.3% (44)
- $2,000 to $2,999 3.9% (564)
- $3,000 or more 91.5% (13,205)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
193 homes here (1.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Rhode Island handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Bristol County pay about the same bill, a 7% gap.
Bristol County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Bristol County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Bristol County's median bill is 36% above the Rhode Island median and 234% above the U.S. median.
Same rate as Rhode Island, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 7% of the Rhode Island median, yet the median bill runs 36% above it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to costlier housing produces $6,648 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Bristol County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Bristol County | Rhode Island Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 5.8% | - | - |
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 Bristol County's $6,648 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Bristol County's $6,648 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $665/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Rhode Island.
Bristol County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $6,648 +2.5% | 1.29% |
| 2023 | $6,483 +1.2% | 1.39% |
| 2022 | $6,403 +5.5% | 1.44% |
| 2021 | $6,069 +3.8% | 1.60% |
| 2020 | $5,849 | 1.60% |
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.
Bristol County: tax takes 5.8% of income
Counties near Bristol County's median bill
On effective rate, Bristol County sits nearest Stark County (OH), Platte County (NE), Keya Paha County (NE).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Wood County (TX), Perquimans County (NC), Milwaukee County (WI).
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
Bristol County: only 11% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 2,870 of 25,560 returns from Bristol County reported real estate taxes, averaging $11,108 - 39% 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 Rhode Island
Bristol County bill FAQs
- How does Bristol County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Bristol County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.29% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Bristol County, Rhode Island?
- The median annual property tax in Bristol County is $6,648, an effective rate of 1.29% on a $513,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Bristol County?
- Property taxes in Bristol County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.8% of the $114,490 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Bristol County?
- Bristol County, Rhode Island scores F (13/100) 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 F (+$468). 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 Bristol County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Bristol County climbed 13.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $5,849 to $6,648, 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 Bristol County's SPIKE bill
Bristol County's $6,648 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 5.8% of Bristol County's $114,490 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Bristol County's SPIKE 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: 1.29%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $6,648/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Bristol County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Bristol County (PAR · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR SPIKE
Hays County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,649/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.66% vs Bristol County 1.29%.
Chittenden County, VT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,617/yr (near-tied bill ABS $31); rate 1.51% vs Bristol County 1.29%.
Strafford County, NH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,708/yr (higher bill ABS $60); rate 1.85% vs Bristol County 1.29%.
Ocean County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,562/yr (lower bill ABS $86); rate 1.65% vs Bristol County 1.29%.
Rhode Island county set
State ACS overview for every published Rhode Island county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Bristol County stamps PAR · SPIKE - 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 Bristol County (PAR · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.