Rhode Island · County property tax · ACS 2024
Kent County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Kent County pays $4,957 a year, an effective rate of 1.35%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,957
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.35%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +149%
- vs U.S. average
- #1 of 5
- rank in RI
The verdict
Homeowners in Kent County pay a median $4,957 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.35%, more affordable than 17% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,957
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.35%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2617 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +149%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($366,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Rhode Island. Population: 171,456. Owner-occupied homes: 53,231.
The median annual property tax in Kent County is $4,957, which is 1% higher than the Rhode Island state average and 149% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.35% on a median home value of $366,100. Property taxes represent 5.3% of the median household income in this county.
Why Kent County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Kent County pay a median annual property tax of $4,957, far above the national median and roughly in line with the Rhode Island state median. On a $366,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.35% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Rhode Island counties by effective rate
Kent County ranks #1 of 5 counties in Rhode Island by effective rate (80% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Kent County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.3% of the $94,345 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Kent County's 1.35% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 17%).
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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Kent County rose 47.8%, from $247,700 to $366,100. The effective rate fell 23.5% over the same span, a steeper move than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 13.1%, to $4,957. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 $4,382 to $4,957, a gain of 13%. 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: 45,805 of 53,231 owner-occupied homes (86.0%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 5.3% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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, 45,805 of 53,231 owner-occupied homes (86.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 2.4% (1,291)
- $800 to $1,499 2.9% (1,529)
- $1,500 to $1,999 2.0% (1,079)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.2% (2,774)
- $3,000 or more 86.0% (45,805)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
753 homes here (1.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Rhode Island handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Kent County pay about the same bill, a 8% gap.
Kent County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Kent County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Kent County's median bill is 1% above the Rhode Island median and 149% above the U.S. median.
Kent County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Kent County | Rhode Island 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 | 5.3% | - | - |
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 Kent County's $4,957 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Kent County's $4,957 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $496/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Rhode Island.
Kent County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,957 +1.1% | 1.35% |
| 2023 | $4,903 +1.4% | 1.47% |
| 2022 | $4,833 +6.2% | 1.58% |
| 2021 | $4,551 +3.9% | 1.72% |
| 2020 | $4,382 | 1.77% |
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 5.3% of income
Counties near Kent County's median bill
On effective rate, Kent County sits nearest Montgomery County (PA), Dauphin County (PA), Crawford County (PA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Taylor County (WI), Lipscomb County (TX), Windham County (VT).
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 8% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 7,590 of 93,050 returns from Kent County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,693 - 32% 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 Rhode Island
Kent County bill FAQs
- How does Kent County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Kent County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.35% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Kent County, Rhode Island?
- The median annual property tax in Kent County is $4,957, an effective rate of 1.35% on a $366,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Kent County?
- Property taxes in Kent County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.3% of the $94,345 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Kent County?
- Kent County, Rhode Island scores F (14/100) 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 D (+$386). 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 Kent County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Kent County climbed 13.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $4,382 to $4,957, 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 HEAVY bill
Kent County's $4,957 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 5.3% of Kent County's $94,345 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Kent County's HEAVY 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: 1.35%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,957/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 (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Sullivan County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,969/yr (near-tied bill ABS $12); rate 2.00% vs Kent County 1.35%.
Anchorage Municipality, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,982/yr (near-tied bill ABS $25); rate 1.26% vs Kent County 1.35%.
Washington County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,929/yr (near-tied bill ABS $28); rate 0.84% vs Kent County 1.35%.
Belknap County, NH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,924/yr (near-tied bill ABS $33); rate 1.31% vs Kent County 1.35%.
Rhode Island county set
State ACS overview for every published Rhode Island county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Kent County stamps STEEP · HEAVY - 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 Kent County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.