South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Kershaw County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Kershaw County pays $1,013 a year, an effective rate of 0.47%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,013
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.47%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -49%
- vs U.S. average
- #30 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Kershaw County pay a median $1,013 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.47%, more affordable than 87% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,013
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.47%
- Effective rate on median home
- #418 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -49%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($217,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 68,314. Owner-occupied homes: 22,066.
The median annual property tax in Kershaw County is $1,013, which is 19% lower than the South Carolina state average and 49% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.47% on a median home value of $217,100. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Kershaw County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Kershaw County's 0.47% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 87%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Kershaw County pay a median annual property tax of $1,013, well below the national median and notably lower than the South Carolina state median. On a $217,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.47% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Kershaw County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $68,231 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of South Carolina counties by effective rate
Kershaw County ranks #30 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (35% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Kershaw 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
Kershaw County's effective rate fell 13.5% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 60.2%, leaving the median bill 38.6% higher at $1,013. That rate move is larger than the one in 57% 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 39% from $731 to $1,013. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 7,833 of 22,066 owner-occupied homes (35.5%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 1.5% 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 Kershaw County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Kershaw County homeowners, 7,833 of 22,066 owner-occupied homes (35.5%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 35.5% (7,833)
- $800 to $1,499 34.0% (7,509)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.1% (2,446)
- $2,000 to $2,999 7.3% (1,621)
- $3,000 or more 5.8% (1,285)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,372 homes here (6.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Kershaw County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+66%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Kershaw County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Kershaw County's effective rate is higher than 35% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #30 of 46.
Where Kershaw County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.47% Among the most affordable more affordable than 87% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Kershaw County moved from $731 in the 2020 release to $1,013 in 2024, a change of about 39%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Kershaw County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Kershaw County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.5% | - | - |
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.
Kershaw County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Kershaw County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,013 +8.1% | 0.47% |
| 2023 | $937 +2.1% | 0.49% |
| 2022 | $918 +16.6% | 0.53% |
| 2021 | $787 +7.7% | 0.52% |
| 2020 | $731 | 0.54% |
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.
Kershaw County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Kershaw County's effective rate
On effective rate, Kershaw County sits nearest Stone County (MO), Camden County (MO), St. Bernard Parish (LA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Gallatin County (MT), Quay County (NM), Henderson County (TX).
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
Kershaw County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,540 of 32,040 returns from Kershaw County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,797 - 37% 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 South Carolina
Kershaw County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Kershaw County?
- Kershaw County, South Carolina scores B (72/100) 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 (0.47%). 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 Kershaw County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Kershaw County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.47% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Kershaw County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Kershaw County is $1,013, an effective rate of 0.47% on a $217,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Kershaw County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Kershaw County jumped 38.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $731 to $1,013, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Kershaw County?
- Property taxes in Kershaw County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $68,231 median household income.
What to do with Kershaw County's QUIET rate
Kershaw County's $1,013 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 1.5% of Kershaw County's $68,231 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Kershaw 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: 0.47%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,013/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Kershaw County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Kershaw County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Graham County, AZ
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kershaw County at $1,013/yr; rate 0.48% vs Kershaw County 0.47%.
Wheatland County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kershaw County at $1,013/yr; rate 0.56% vs Kershaw County 0.47%.
Coahoma County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,012/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.12% vs Kershaw County 0.47%.
Colquitt County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,014/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.84% vs Kershaw County 0.47%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Kershaw 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 Kershaw County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.