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California · County property tax · ACS 2024

Calaveras County Property Taxes

The median homeowner in Calaveras County pays $3,319 a year, an effective rate of 0.73%, far above the U.S. average.

$3,319
Median tax / yr · High bill
0.73%
Effective rate · Below-median rate
+67%
vs U.S. average
#20 of 58
rank in CA

The verdict

Homeowners in Calaveras County pay a median $3,319 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.73%, more affordable than 56% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).

$3,319
Median annual tax bill, 2024
0.73%
Effective rate on median home
#1364 of 3135
U.S. counties by tax burden
+67%
vs the national average bill

Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($457,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.

Tax affordability score · Calaveras County, CA

26/100

5 ACS dimensions · release 2024

Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Rate relief C
0.73%

Calaveras County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)

Mortgage premium F
+$679

Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Calaveras County

Income room F
4.2%

Median tax as a share of Calaveras County's median household income

Bill size F
$3,319/yr

Calaveras County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties

Housing pressure F
5.81×

Median home value relative to Calaveras County's median income

Calaveras County affordability profile (scored ACS dimensions) 5-axis radar comparing 1 series across Rate relief, Mortgage premium, Income room, Bill size, Housing pressure. Rate reliefMortgage premiumIncome roomBill sizeHousing pressure 26 F
Calaveras County affordability profile (scored ACS dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Rate relief: 58/100 (C) · 0.73%
  • Mortgage premium: 20/100 (F) · +$679
  • Income room: 13/100 (F) · 4.2%
  • Bill size: 13/100 (F) · $3,319/yr
  • Housing pressure: 0/100 (F) · 5.81×

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Census Bureau ACS property tax data for California. Population: 46,248. Owner-occupied homes: 15,480.

The median annual property tax in Calaveras County is $3,319, which is 35% lower than the California state average and 67% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.73% on a median home value of $457,200. Property taxes represent 4.2% of the median household income in this county.

What This Data Tells Us About Calaveras County

Primary signal

The bill sits well above the national median

Homeowners in Calaveras County pay a median annual property tax of $3,319, far above the national median and well below the California state median. On a $457,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.73% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.

Decision signal 2

Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band

Property taxes in Calaveras County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.2% of the $78,647 median household income.

Decision signal 3

Near the middle of California counties by effective rate

Calaveras County ranks #20 of 58 counties in California by effective rate (66% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).

Decision signal 4

The effective rate sits near the national middle

Calaveras County's 0.73% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 56%).

This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Calaveras County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making decisions that depend on these numbers.

Most of the market's rise reached the bill

The effective rate here moved 6.3% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 74% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 34.5%, the median bill rose 26.0% to $3,319: 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.

Median Annual Tax
$3,319
High bill
-35% vs State +67% vs US
Median Home Value
$457,200
-38% vs State +101% vs US
Effective Tax Rate
0.73%
Below-median rate
+4% vs State -21% vs US

How to read this county's bill

The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 26% from $2,635 to $3,319. 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: 8,556 of 15,480 owner-occupied homes (55.3%) 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.

Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 4.2% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.

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 Calaveras County Homeowners Actually Pay

The single largest group of Calaveras County homeowners, 8,556 of 15,480 owner-occupied homes (55.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.

  • Less than $800 4.5% (704)
  • $800 to $1,499 9.9% (1,528)
  • $1,500 to $1,999 8.0% (1,234)
  • $2,000 to $2,999 19.3% (2,991)
  • $3,000 or more 55.3% (8,556)

Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.

467 homes here (3.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how California handles assessments and appeals.

With vs Without Mortgage

With Mortgage
$3,569
$297/mo
Without Mortgage
$2,890
$241/mo

In Calaveras County, mortgaged homeowners pay 23% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.

How Calaveras County compares

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.

Calaveras County 0.73%
California average 0.70%
U.S. average 0.92%

Calaveras County's effective rate is higher than 66% of the 58 counties in California - ranking #20 of 58 for property tax burden.

Where Calaveras County sits among every U.S. county

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)

0.73% more affordable than 56% of 3,135 U.S. counties

Show national distribution This county 0.00% 4.00% every U.S. county, bucketed by value

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 Calaveras County moved from $2,635 in the 2020 release to $3,319 in 2024, a change of about 26%. 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.

Calaveras County vs Benchmarks

Metric Calaveras County California Avg U.S. Avg
Median Annual Tax High bill $3,319 $5,124 $1,993
Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate 0.73% 0.70% 0.92%
Median Home Value $457,200 $734,700 $227,791
Tax as % of income Heavy income burden 4.2% - -

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.

Calaveras County stamps UNDER · HEAVY - still check the parcel card

On Calaveras County's published figures (UNDER · HEAVY), a $457,200 median home carries a $3,319 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $332 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in California.

Property Tax History · UNDER · HEAVY

$2,600$2,800$3,000$3,200$3,400 20202021202220232024 $3,319
Median annual property tax in Calaveras County, 2020–2024 (ACS). Up +26% over the period.
Year Median Tax (vs prior release) Effective Rate
2024 $3,319 +5.2% 0.73%
2023 $3,154 +7.5% 0.71%
2022 $2,933 +6.3% 0.73%
2021 $2,758 +4.7% 0.78%
2020 $2,635 0.78%

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.

Tax Burden

Tax-to-Income Ratio
4.2%
of median household income
Median Income
$78,647
per year
Monthly Tax
$277
per month

Tax Affordability Score

8.2
Very Affordable

An effective rate notably lower than the national average of 0.92% puts Calaveras County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.

Very Expensive Very Affordable

How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Calaveras County or any other county.

Counties with similar tax profiles

On effective rate, Calaveras County sits nearest Hamilton County (FL), Pasco County (FL), Polk County (FL).

On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Steuben County (IN), Iron County (UT), Audrain 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.

What tax filers report in Calaveras County

Of the 21,400 federal returns filed from Calaveras County in 2022, 2,580 (12.1% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $5,385 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 39% of the county's reporting returns.

Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.

Other Counties in California

View all counties in California →

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Calaveras County property tax compare to the national average?
Property taxes in Calaveras County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.73% versus 0.92% nationally.
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Calaveras County?
Property taxes in Calaveras County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.2% of the $78,647 median household income.
Are property taxes increasing in Calaveras County?
The ACS median property-tax bill for Calaveras County jumped 26.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,635 to $3,319, 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 is the tax affordability score for Calaveras County?
Calaveras County, California scores F (26/100) 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 C (0.73%). 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 is the average property tax in Calaveras County, California?
The median annual property tax in Calaveras County is $3,319, an effective rate of 0.73% on a $457,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).

What to do with Calaveras County's numbers

  • Calaveras County's $3,319 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
  • Calaveras County ranks #20 of 58 California counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. California overview →
  • If Calaveras County's assessment looks high versus the $457,200 typical home, check California's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition

Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($457,200); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.

Nationwide peers by effective rate & median bill

Two PlainPropertyTax-derived comparison paths for Calaveras County, both outside California so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice. Axes stay disjoint: median-bill peers exclude the effective-rate peer set.

Similar effective rate

Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.73%.

Similar median bill

Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,319/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.

Read with Calaveras County

Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Calaveras County (UNDER · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.

UNDER HEAVY

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.

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Editorial standards and provenance

PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Calaveras County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.