South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Dorchester County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Dorchester County pays $1,851 a year, an effective rate of 0.56%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,851
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.56%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -7%
- vs U.S. average
- #16 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Dorchester County pay a median $1,851 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.56%, more affordable than 76% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,851
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.56%
- Effective rate on median home
- #740 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -7%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($329,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 167,201. Owner-occupied homes: 47,721.
The median annual property tax in Dorchester County is $1,851, which is 48% higher than the South Carolina state average and 7% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.56% on a median home value of $329,300. Property taxes represent 2.4% of the median household income in this county.
Dorchester County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Dorchester County's 0.56% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 76%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits above the South Carolina median
Homeowners in Dorchester County pay a median annual property tax of $1,851, modestly below the national median and well above the South Carolina state median. On a $329,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.56% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of South Carolina counties by effective rate
Dorchester County ranks #16 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (65% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Dorchester County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $78,198 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Dorchester 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
Dorchester County's effective rate fell 12.5% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 54.6%, leaving the median bill 35.2% higher at $1,851. That rate move is larger than the one in 51% 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 35% from $1,369 to $1,851. 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 plurality of owner-occupied homes here falls in the $2,000 to $2,999 band, at 11,560 of 47,721 (24.2%). This shows the reported distribution around the county median, while individual assessments can vary.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 2.4% 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 Dorchester County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Dorchester County homeowners, 11,560 of 47,721 owner-occupied homes (24.2%), pays $2,000 to $2,999 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 14.5% (6,924)
- $800 to $1,499 21.0% (10,018)
- $1,500 to $1,999 17.6% (8,414)
- $2,000 to $2,999 24.2% (11,560)
- $3,000 or more 18.4% (8,781)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,024 homes here (4.2%) 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 Dorchester County pay a substantially higher bill, 50% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Dorchester County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Dorchester County's effective rate is higher than 65% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #16 of 46.
Where Dorchester County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.56% Among the most affordable more affordable than 76% 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 Dorchester County moved from $1,369 in the 2020 release to $1,851 in 2024, a change of about 35%. 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.
Dorchester County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Dorchester County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.4% | - | - |
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.
Dorchester County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Dorchester County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,851 +8.2% | 0.56% |
| 2023 | $1,710 +5.2% | 0.58% |
| 2022 | $1,626 +13.3% | 0.60% |
| 2021 | $1,435 +4.8% | 0.63% |
| 2020 | $1,369 | 0.64% |
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.
Dorchester County: tax-to-income at 2.4%
Counties near Dorchester County's effective rate
On effective rate, Dorchester County sits nearest Lincoln County (OK), Johnston County (OK), Pamlico County (NC).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Logan County (KY), Gillespie County (TX), Mills County (TX).
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
Dorchester County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 5,100 of 80,370 returns from Dorchester County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,432 - 38% 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
Dorchester County rate FAQs
- How does Dorchester County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Dorchester County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.56% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Dorchester County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Dorchester County is $1,851, an effective rate of 0.56% on a $329,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Dorchester County?
- Dorchester County, South Carolina scores D (49/100) 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 B+ (0.56%). 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 Dorchester County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Dorchester County jumped 35.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,369 to $1,851, 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 Dorchester County?
- Property taxes in Dorchester County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $78,198 median household income.
What to do with Dorchester County's QUIET rate
Inside South Carolina, Dorchester County's $1,851 median bill runs high versus the state median - compare the rest of the state before judging the burden. South Carolina overview →
Dorchester County ranks #16 of 46 South Carolina counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. South Carolina overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Dorchester 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: 0.56%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,851/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Dorchester County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Dorchester County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Cumberland County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,850/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.93% vs Dorchester County 0.56%.
Hocking County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,852/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.99% vs Dorchester County 0.56%.
Jasper County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,852/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.57% vs Dorchester County 0.56%.
Howard County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,853/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.25% vs Dorchester County 0.56%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Dorchester County stamps QUIET · MID - 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 Dorchester County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.