Maryland · County property tax · ACS 2024
Howard County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Howard County pays $6,987 a year, an effective rate of 1.17%, far above the U.S. average.
- $6,987
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.17%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +251%
- vs U.S. average
- #2 of 24
- rank in MD
The verdict
Homeowners in Howard County pay a median $6,987 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.17%, more affordable than 25% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $6,987
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.17%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2366 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +251%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($597,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Maryland. Population: 336,328. Owner-occupied homes: 86,533.
The median annual property tax in Howard County is $6,987, which is 71% higher than the Maryland state average and 251% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.17% on a median home value of $597,900. Property taxes represent 4.7% of the median household income in this county.
Why Howard County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Howard County pay a median annual property tax of $6,987, far above the national median and far above the Maryland state median. On a $597,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.17% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Maryland counties by effective rate
Howard County ranks #2 of 24 counties in Maryland by effective rate (92% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Howard County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.7% of the $149,763 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Howard County's 1.17% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 25%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Howard 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 8.5% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 66% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 28.7%, the median bill rose 17.8% to $6,987: 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 $5,932 to $6,987, a gain of 18%. 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: 78,608 of 86,533 owner-occupied homes (90.8%) 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 4.7% 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 Howard County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Howard County homeowners, 78,608 of 86,533 owner-occupied homes (90.8%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 1.3% (1,111)
- $800 to $1,499 1.3% (1,165)
- $1,500 to $1,999 1.2% (1,041)
- $2,000 to $2,999 3.3% (2,862)
- $3,000 or more 90.8% (78,608)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,746 homes here (2.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Maryland handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Howard County pay about the same bill, within a 1% gap either way.
Howard County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Howard County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Howard County's median bill is 71% above the Maryland median and 251% above the U.S. median.
Above Maryland on both measures
Howard County's effective rate runs 21% over the Maryland median and its bill 71% over. When both move together the rate is not being offset by cheaper housing, so the $6,987 median bill is carrying the full weight of the higher rate rather than a valuation difference. This is a comparison of two published medians, not a statement about any individual parcel.
Howard County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Howard County | Maryland Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.7% | - | - |
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 Howard County's $6,987 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Howard County's $6,987 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $699/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Maryland.
Howard County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $6,987 +2.5% | 1.17% |
| 2023 | $6,814 +2.5% | 1.18% |
| 2022 | $6,650 +6.7% | 1.21% |
| 2021 | $6,230 +5.0% | 1.29% |
| 2020 | $5,932 | 1.28% |
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.
Howard County: tax takes 4.7% of income
Counties near Howard County's median bill
On effective rate, Howard County sits nearest Knox County (ME), Louisa County (IA), Plymouth County (MA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Christian County (KY), Overton County (TN), Stanly County (NC).
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
Howard County: only 22% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 35,990 of 165,830 returns from Howard County reported real estate taxes, averaging $8,202 - 40% 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 Maryland
Howard County bill FAQs
- How does Howard County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Howard County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.17% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Howard County, Maryland?
- The median annual property tax in Howard County is $6,987, an effective rate of 1.17% on a $597,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Howard County?
- Property taxes in Howard County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.7% of the $149,763 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Howard County?
- Howard County, Maryland scores F (26/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-72). 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 Howard County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Howard County climbed 17.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $5,932 to $6,987, 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 Howard County's SPIKE bill
Howard County's $6,987 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Howard County ranks #2 of 24 Maryland counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Maryland overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Howard County's SPIKE 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: 1.17%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $6,987/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Howard County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Howard County (PAR · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR SPIKE
Hillsborough County, NH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,999/yr (near-tied bill ABS $12); rate 1.66% vs Howard County 1.17%.
Fort Bend County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,965/yr (near-tied bill ABS $22); rate 1.86% vs Howard County 1.17%.
Salem County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,018/yr (near-tied bill ABS $31); rate 2.93% vs Howard County 1.17%.
Alexandria city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,024/yr (near-tied bill ABS $37); rate 0.96% vs Howard County 1.17%.
Maryland county set
State ACS overview for every published Maryland county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Howard County stamps PAR · SPIKE - 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 Howard County (PAR · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.