Pennsylvania · County property tax · ACS 2024
Erie County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Erie County pays $2,830 a year, an effective rate of 1.60%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,830
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.60%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- +42%
- vs U.S. average
- #5 of 67
- rank in PA
The verdict
Homeowners in Erie County pay a median $2,830 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.60%, more affordable than 8% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,830
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.60%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2880 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +42%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($177,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Pennsylvania. Population: 269,052. Owner-occupied homes: 75,276.
The median annual property tax in Erie County is $2,830, which is 15% lower than the Pennsylvania state average and 42% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.60% on a median home value of $177,000. Property taxes represent 4.5% of the median household income in this county.
Erie County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national headwind
Erie County's 1.60% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 92% pay more.
Decision signal 2
Low among Pennsylvania counties by effective rate
Erie County ranks #5 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by effective rate (93% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Erie County pay a median annual property tax of $2,830, well above the national median and notably lower than the Pennsylvania state median. On a $177,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.60% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Erie County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.5% of the $63,354 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Erie 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
Erie County's effective rate fell 13.3% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 27.8%, leaving the median bill 10.8% higher at $2,830. That rate move is larger than the one in 55% 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $2,554 to $2,830, a gain of 11%. 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: 33,888 of 75,276 owner-occupied homes (45.0%) 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.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 4.5% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned here.
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 Erie County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Erie County homeowners, 33,888 of 75,276 owner-occupied homes (45.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.6% (5,710)
- $800 to $1,499 12.3% (9,228)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.7% (8,066)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.9% (16,495)
- $3,000 or more 45.0% (33,888)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,889 homes here (2.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Pennsylvania handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Erie County, mortgaged homeowners pay 13% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Erie County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Erie County's effective rate is higher than 93% of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania - ranking #5 of 67.
Where Erie County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.60% more affordable than 8% 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
Erie County taxes property at 1.60%, about 23% above the Pennsylvania average, yet its median bill of $2,830 lands roughly 15% 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.
Erie County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Erie County | Pennsylvania Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.5% | - | - |
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.
Erie County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Erie County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $177,000 median home carries a $2,830 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $283 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Pennsylvania.
Erie County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,830 +2.8% | 1.60% |
| 2023 | $2,754 +0.6% | 1.62% |
| 2022 | $2,738 +4.0% | 1.71% |
| 2021 | $2,633 +3.1% | 1.83% |
| 2020 | $2,554 | 1.84% |
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.
Erie County: tax takes 4.5% of income
Counties near Erie County's effective rate
On effective rate, Erie County sits nearest Delaware County (OH), Clarke County (IA), Perry County (IL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Christian County (IL), Dodge County (WI), Ripley 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.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Erie County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 3,170 of 127,180 returns from Erie County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,888 - 32% 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 Pennsylvania
Erie County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Erie County?
- Erie County, Pennsylvania scores F (21/100) 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 housing pressure at C (2.79×). 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.
- How does Erie County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Erie County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.60% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Erie County, Pennsylvania?
- The median annual property tax in Erie County is $2,830, an effective rate of 1.60% on a $177,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Erie County?
- Property taxes in Erie County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.5% of the $63,354 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Erie County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Erie County climbed 10.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,554 to $2,830, 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 Erie County's STEEP rate
Erie County's $2,830 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Erie County ranks #5 of 67 Pennsylvania counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Pennsylvania overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Erie County's STEEP 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: 1.60%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,830/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Erie County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Erie County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Larimer County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,832/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.50% vs Erie County 1.60%.
Lincoln County, ME
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,828/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.85% vs Erie County 1.60%.
Wasco County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,828/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.77% vs Erie County 1.60%.
Yellowstone County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,832/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.81% vs Erie County 1.60%.
Pennsylvania county set
State ACS overview for every published Pennsylvania county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Erie County stamps STEEP · MID - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 Erie County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.