Pennsylvania · County property tax · ACS 2024
Forest County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Forest County pays $1,145 a year, an effective rate of 0.99%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,145
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.99%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -43%
- vs U.S. average
- #62 of 67
- rank in PA
The verdict
Homeowners in Forest County pay a median $1,145 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.99%, more affordable than 36% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,145
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.99%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2004 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -43%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($115,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Pennsylvania. Population: 6,715. Owner-occupied homes: 1,504.
The median annual property tax in Forest County is $1,145, which is 65% lower than the Pennsylvania state average and 43% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.99% on a median home value of $115,300. Property taxes represent 2.2% of the median household income in this county.
Forest County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Forest County's 0.99% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 36%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Forest County pay a median annual property tax of $1,145, well below the national median and far below the Pennsylvania state median. On a $115,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.99% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Pennsylvania counties by effective rate
Forest County ranks #62 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by effective rate (7% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Forest County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.2% of the $52,191 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Forest 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 9.2% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 63% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 25.7%, the median bill rose 14.2% to $1,145: 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.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,003 to $1,145, a gain of 14%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 488 of 1,504 owner-occupied homes (32.4%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
This county earns in the bottom quarter of the country and taxes above the median rate, so the median bill absorbs 2.2% of median household income. The rate alone understates that; it is the pairing that matters.
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 Forest County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Forest County homeowners, 488 of 1,504 owner-occupied homes (32.4%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 32.4% (488)
- $800 to $1,499 31.1% (467)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.0% (181)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.3% (215)
- $3,000 or more 7.2% (109)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
44 homes here (2.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Pennsylvania handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Forest County, mortgaged homeowners pay 22% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Forest County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Forest County's effective rate is higher than 7% of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania - ranking #62 of 67.
Where Forest County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.99% more affordable than 36% 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
Below Pennsylvania on both measures
Forest County's effective rate runs 24% under the Pennsylvania median and its bill 65% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $1,145 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Pennsylvania norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Forest County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Forest County | Pennsylvania Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.2% | - | - |
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.
Forest County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Pennsylvania counties.
Forest County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,145 -1.5% | 0.99% |
| 2023 | $1,162 +4.9% | 1.04% |
| 2022 | $1,108 +9.4% | 1.08% |
| 2021 | $1,013 +1.0% | 1.08% |
| 2020 | $1,003 | 1.09% |
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.
Forest County: tax-to-income at 2.2%
Counties near Forest County's effective rate
On effective rate, Forest County sits nearest Hocking County (OH), Ashland County (OH), Ramsey County (ND).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Fillmore County (NE), Talbot County (MD), Middlesex County (NJ).
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
Forest County: only 1% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 20 of 2,590 returns from Forest County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,350 - 100% of those reporters sat in the $25-50k 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
Forest County rate FAQs
- How does Forest County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Forest County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.99% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Forest County, Pennsylvania?
- The median annual property tax in Forest County is $1,145, an effective rate of 0.99% on a $115,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Forest County?
- Forest County, Pennsylvania scores C (57/100) 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 A- (2.21×). 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 Forest County?
- Property taxes in Forest County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.2% of the $52,191 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Forest County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Forest County climbed 14.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,003 to $1,145, 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 Forest County's UNDER rate
Forest County's $1,145 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 →
Forest County ranks #62 of 67 Pennsylvania counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Pennsylvania overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Forest County's UNDER 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: 0.99%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,145/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Forest County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Forest County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Owen County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Forest County at $1,145/yr; rate 0.66% vs Forest County 0.99%.
Bacon County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,144/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.13% vs Forest County 0.99%.
Dundy County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,146/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.80% vs Forest County 0.99%.
Moffat County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,146/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.40% vs Forest County 0.99%.
Pennsylvania county set
State ACS overview for every published Pennsylvania county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Forest County stamps UNDER · 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 Forest County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.