Maine · County property tax · ACS 2024
Cumberland County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Cumberland County pays $4,707 a year, an effective rate of 1.04%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,707
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.04%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +136%
- vs U.S. average
- #11 of 16
- rank in ME
The verdict
Homeowners in Cumberland County pay a median $4,707 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.04%, more affordable than 32% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,707
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.04%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2125 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +136%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($451,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Maine. Population: 308,827. Owner-occupied homes: 92,265.
The median annual property tax in Cumberland County is $4,707, which is 55% higher than the Maine state average and 136% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.04% on a median home value of $451,200. Property taxes represent 4.9% of the median household income in this county.
Why Cumberland County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Cumberland County pay a median annual property tax of $4,707, far above the national median and far above the Maine state median. On a $451,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.04% 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 Cumberland County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.9% of the $95,677 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Cumberland County's 1.04% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 32%).
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Maine counties by effective rate
Cumberland County ranks #11 of 16 counties in Maine by effective rate (31% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Cumberland 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 Cumberland County rose 56.2%, from $288,800 to $451,200. The effective rate fell 21.8% over the same span, a steeper move than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 22.2%, to $4,707. 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 $3,852 to $4,707, a gain of 22%. 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: 71,339 of 92,265 owner-occupied homes (77.3%) 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.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 4.9% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 Cumberland County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Cumberland County homeowners, 71,339 of 92,265 owner-occupied homes (77.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 3.3% (3,028)
- $800 to $1,499 3.4% (3,117)
- $1,500 to $1,999 3.5% (3,219)
- $2,000 to $2,999 10.9% (10,065)
- $3,000 or more 77.3% (71,339)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,497 homes here (1.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Maine handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Cumberland County pay about the same bill, a 1% gap.
Cumberland County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Cumberland County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Cumberland County's median bill is 55% above the Maine median and 136% above the U.S. median.
Same rate as Maine, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 2% of the Maine median, yet the median bill runs 55% 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 $4,707 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Cumberland County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Cumberland County | Maine Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.9% | - | - |
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 Cumberland County's $4,707 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Cumberland County's $4,707 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $471/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Maine.
Cumberland County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,707 +2.8% | 1.04% |
| 2023 | $4,577 +4.7% | 1.11% |
| 2022 | $4,372 +7.7% | 1.17% |
| 2021 | $4,060 +5.4% | 1.29% |
| 2020 | $3,852 | 1.33% |
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.
Cumberland County: tax takes 4.9% of income
Counties near Cumberland County's median bill
On effective rate, Cumberland County sits nearest Terrell County (GA), Montgomery County (GA), Liberty County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Morton County (ND), Allegan County (MI), Sanborn County (SD).
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
Cumberland County: only 9% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 14,390 of 166,360 returns from Cumberland County reported real estate taxes, averaging $7,839 - 33% 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 Maine
Cumberland County bill FAQs
- How does Cumberland County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Cumberland County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.04% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Cumberland County, Maine?
- The median annual property tax in Cumberland County is $4,707, an effective rate of 1.04% on a $451,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Cumberland County?
- Property taxes in Cumberland County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.9% of the $95,677 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Cumberland County?
- Cumberland County, Maine scores F (25/100) 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 A (+$27). 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 Cumberland County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Cumberland County jumped 22.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,852 to $4,707, 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 Cumberland County's HEAVY bill
Cumberland County's $4,707 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Cumberland County ranks #11 of 16 Maine counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Maine overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Cumberland County's HEAVY 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: 1.04%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,707/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Cumberland County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Cumberland County (PAR · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR HEAVY
Northampton County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,700/yr (near-tied bill ABS $7); rate 1.52% vs Cumberland County 1.04%.
Ellis County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,697/yr (near-tied bill ABS $10); rate 1.35% vs Cumberland County 1.04%.
Franklin County, MA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,720/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 1.43% vs Cumberland County 1.04%.
Nevada County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,694/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 0.75% vs Cumberland County 1.04%.
Maine county set
State ACS overview for every published Maine county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Cumberland County stamps PAR · HEAVY - 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 Cumberland County (PAR · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.