Delaware · County property tax · ACS 2024
Kent County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Kent County pays $1,363 a year, an effective rate of 0.43%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,363
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.43%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -32%
- vs U.S. average
- #2 of 3
- rank in DE
The verdict
Homeowners in Kent County pay a median $1,363 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.43%, more affordable than 91% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,363
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.43%
- Effective rate on median home
- #292 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -32%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($316,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Delaware. Population: 187,604. Owner-occupied homes: 51,808.
The median annual property tax in Kent County is $1,363, which is 23% lower than the Delaware state average and 32% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.43% on a median home value of $316,600. Property taxes represent 1.8% of the median household income in this county.
Kent County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Kent County's 0.43% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 91% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Kent County pay a median annual property tax of $1,363, well below the national median and notably lower than the Delaware state median. On a $316,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.43% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Kent County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $74,477 median household income.
Decision signal 4
High among Delaware counties by effective rate
Kent County ranks #2 of 3 counties in Delaware by effective rate (33% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Kent 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
Kent County's effective rate fell 15.0% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 39.7%, leaving the median bill 18.7% higher at $1,363. That rate move is larger than the one in 64% 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 $1,148 to $1,363, a gain of 19%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 17,567 of 51,808 owner-occupied homes (33.9%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 1.8% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
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 Kent County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Kent County homeowners, 17,567 of 51,808 owner-occupied homes (33.9%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 20.8% (10,779)
- $800 to $1,499 33.9% (17,567)
- $1,500 to $1,999 17.5% (9,067)
- $2,000 to $2,999 15.9% (8,228)
- $3,000 or more 7.1% (3,671)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,496 homes here (4.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Delaware handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Kent County, mortgaged homeowners pay 28% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Kent County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Kent County's effective rate is higher than 33% of the 3 counties in Delaware - ranking #2 of 3.
Where Kent County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.43% Among the most affordable more affordable than 91% 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
Among the lowest-taxed counties in the country
At 0.43%, Kent County sits in the lowest 9% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. A low rate does not by itself mean a low bill: the median here is $1,363, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Kent County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Kent County | Delaware Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 1.8% | - | - |
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.
Kent County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Delaware counties.
Kent County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,363 +2.4% | 0.43% |
| 2023 | $1,331 +3.1% | 0.46% |
| 2022 | $1,291 +4.6% | 0.47% |
| 2021 | $1,234 +7.5% | 0.52% |
| 2020 | $1,148 | 0.51% |
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.
Kent County: tax takes only 1.8% of income
Counties near Kent County's effective rate
On effective rate, Kent County sits nearest Alamosa County (CO), Van Buren County (AR), Searcy County (AR).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lane County (KS), Roane County (TN), Eaton County (MI).
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
Kent County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 4,970 of 88,490 returns from Kent County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,678 - 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 Delaware
View all counties in Delaware →Kent County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Kent County, Delaware?
- The median annual property tax in Kent County is $1,363, an effective rate of 0.43% on a $316,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Kent County?
- Kent County, Delaware scores B- (67/100) 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 A+ (0.43%). 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 Kent County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Kent County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.43% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Kent County?
- Property taxes in Kent County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $74,477 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Kent County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Kent County climbed 18.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,148 to $1,363, 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 Kent County's QUIET rate
Kent County's $1,363 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 →
Income burden is light here: about 1.8% of Kent County's $74,477 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Kent 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: 0.43%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,363/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Kent County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Kent County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Jackson County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kent County at $1,363/yr; rate 0.90% vs Kent County 0.43%.
Putnam County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kent County at $1,363/yr; rate 0.48% vs Kent County 0.43%.
Madison County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,362/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs Kent County 0.43%.
Marshall County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,362/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.66% vs Kent County 0.43%.
Delaware county set
State ACS overview for every published Delaware county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Kent County stamps QUIET · 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 Kent County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.