California · County property tax · ACS 2024
Lake County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Lake County pays $2,369 a year, an effective rate of 0.73%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,369
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.73%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +19%
- vs U.S. average
- #20 of 58
- rank in CA
The verdict
Homeowners in Lake County pay a median $2,369 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.73%, more affordable than 56% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,369
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.73%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1364 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +19%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($324,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for California. Population: 68,152. Owner-occupied homes: 19,441.
The median annual property tax in Lake County is $2,369, which is 54% lower than the California state average and 19% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.73% on a median home value of $324,300. Property taxes represent 3.9% of the median household income in this county.
Lake County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Lake County's 0.73% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 56%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the California median
Homeowners in Lake County pay a median annual property tax of $2,369, notably higher than the national median and far below the California state median. On a $324,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.73% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of California counties by effective rate
Lake County ranks #20 of 58 counties in California by effective rate (66% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Lake County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.9% of the $60,621 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Lake 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 held while the market moved
Lake County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 3.0% down, against a median home value that rose 36.3%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 32.1%, from $1,793 to $2,369.
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 32% from $1,793 to $2,369. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 6,718 of 19,441 owner-occupied homes (34.6%) 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 cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 3.9% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Lake County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Lake County homeowners, 6,718 of 19,441 owner-occupied homes (34.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 13.6% (2,652)
- $800 to $1,499 14.6% (2,837)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.6% (2,250)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.1% (3,911)
- $3,000 or more 34.6% (6,718)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,073 homes here (5.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how California handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Lake County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+63%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Lake County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Lake County's effective rate is higher than 66% of the 58 counties in California - ranking #20 of 58.
Where Lake County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.73% more affordable than 56% 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 Lake County moved from $1,793 in the 2020 release to $2,369 in 2024, a change of about 32%. 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.
Lake County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Lake County | California Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.9% | - | - |
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.
Lake County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · California counties.
Lake County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,369 +3.2% | 0.73% |
| 2023 | $2,295 +13.3% | 0.72% |
| 2022 | $2,026 +6.1% | 0.70% |
| 2021 | $1,909 +6.5% | 0.73% |
| 2020 | $1,793 | 0.75% |
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.
Lake County: tax-to-income at 3.9%
Counties near Lake County's effective rate
On effective rate, Lake County sits nearest Hamilton County (FL), Pasco County (FL), Polk County (FL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Phelps County (MO), Christian County (MO), Oconee County (GA).
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
Lake County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,790 of 26,270 returns from Lake County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,782 - 34% 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 California
Lake County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Lake County?
- Lake County, California scores F (28/100) 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 C (0.73%). 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 Lake County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Lake County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.73% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Lake County, California?
- The median annual property tax in Lake County is $2,369, an effective rate of 0.73% on a $324,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Lake County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Lake County jumped 32.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,793 to $2,369, 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 Lake County?
- Property taxes in Lake County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.9% of the $60,621 median household income.
What to do with Lake County's UNDER rate
Inside California, Lake County's $2,369 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. California overview →
Lake County ranks #20 of 58 California counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. California overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Lake 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: 0.73%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,369/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Lake County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Lake County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Keith County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Lake County at $2,369/yr; rate 1.41% vs Lake County 0.73%.
Kleberg County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Lake County at $2,369/yr; rate 1.47% vs Lake County 0.73%.
Calhoun County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,368/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.45% vs Lake County 0.73%.
Gregg County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,368/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.16% vs Lake County 0.73%.
California county set
State ACS overview for every published California county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Lake County stamps UNDER · MID - 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 Lake County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.