South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Colleton County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Colleton County pays $900 a year, an effective rate of 0.55%, far below the U.S. average.
- $900
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.55%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -55%
- vs U.S. average
- #18 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Colleton County pay a median $900 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.55%, more affordable than 78% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $900
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.55%
- Effective rate on median home
- #694 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -55%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($162,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 38,783. Owner-occupied homes: 12,026.
The median annual property tax in Colleton County is $900, which is 28% lower than the South Carolina state average and 55% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.55% on a median home value of $162,500. Property taxes represent 1.8% of the median household income in this county.
Colleton County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Colleton County's 0.55% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 78%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Colleton County pay a median annual property tax of $900, far below the national median and well below the South Carolina state median. On a $162,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.55% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Colleton County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $51,114 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of South Carolina counties by effective rate
Colleton County ranks #18 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (61% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 5
The latest release held the bill roughly steady
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has held roughly steady, up 1.9%, from $883 to $900. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Colleton 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 53% from $590 to $900. 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 5,085 of 12,026 owner-occupied homes (42.3%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 1.8% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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 Colleton County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Colleton County homeowners, 5,085 of 12,026 owner-occupied homes (42.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 42.3% (5,085)
- $800 to $1,499 26.9% (3,240)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.8% (1,303)
- $2,000 to $2,999 7.7% (922)
- $3,000 or more 7.7% (929)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
547 homes here (4.5%) 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 Colleton County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+84%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Colleton County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Colleton County's effective rate is higher than 61% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #18 of 46.
Where Colleton County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.55% Among the most affordable more affordable than 78% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Colleton County taxes property at 0.55%, about 15% above the South Carolina average, yet its median bill of $900 lands roughly 28% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Colleton County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Colleton County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.8% | - | - |
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.
Colleton County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Colleton County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $900 +1.9% | 0.55% |
| 2023 | $883 +7.0% | 0.61% |
| 2022 | $825 +15.2% | 0.65% |
| 2021 | $716 +21.4% | 0.70% |
| 2020 | $590 | 0.63% |
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.
Colleton County: tax takes only 1.8% of income
Counties near Colleton County's effective rate
On effective rate, Colleton County sits nearest Sequoyah County (OK), Marshall County (OK), Garvin County (OK).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Barrow County (GA), Summit County (CO), Meagher County (MT).
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
Colleton County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 590 of 17,770 returns from Colleton County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,100 - 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
Colleton County rate FAQs
- How does Colleton County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Colleton County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.55% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Colleton County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Colleton County is $900, an effective rate of 0.55% on a $162,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Colleton County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Colleton County is recorded at $900 in the 2024 5-year release against $590 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 12,026 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What is the tax affordability score for Colleton County?
- Colleton County, South Carolina scores B- (66/100) 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 bill size at A- ($900/yr). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Colleton County?
- Property taxes in Colleton County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $51,114 median household income.
What to do with Colleton County's QUIET rate
Colleton County's $900 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 1.8% of Colleton County's $51,114 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Colleton 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: 0.55%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $900/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Colleton County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Colleton County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Limestone County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Colleton County at $900/yr; rate 0.32% vs Colleton County 0.55%.
Randolph County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Colleton County at $900/yr; rate 0.79% vs Colleton County 0.55%.
Wythe County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Colleton County at $900/yr; rate 0.53% vs Colleton County 0.55%.
Grainger County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $901/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs Colleton County 0.55%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Colleton 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 Colleton County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.