Pennsylvania · County property tax · ACS 2024
Lancaster County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Lancaster County pays $3,975 a year, an effective rate of 1.32%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,975
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.32%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +99%
- vs U.S. average
- #26 of 67
- rank in PA
The verdict
Homeowners in Lancaster County pay a median $3,975 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.32%, more affordable than 18% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,975
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.32%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2580 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +99%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($301,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Pennsylvania. Population: 557,931. Owner-occupied homes: 148,550.
The median annual property tax in Lancaster County is $3,975, which is 20% higher than the Pennsylvania state average and 99% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.32% on a median home value of $301,100. Property taxes represent 4.6% of the median household income in this county.
Why Lancaster County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Lancaster County pay a median annual property tax of $3,975, far above the national median and notably higher than the Pennsylvania state median. On a $301,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.32% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Lancaster County's 1.32% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 18%).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Lancaster County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.6% of the $86,959 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Pennsylvania counties by effective rate
Lancaster County ranks #26 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by effective rate (61% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County rose 37.7%, from $218,700 to $301,100. The effective rate fell 19.0% over the same span, a steeper move than in 79% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 11.5%, to $3,975. 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 $3,565 to $3,975, a gain of 12%. 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: 102,504 of 148,550 owner-occupied homes (69.0%) 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 4.6% 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 Lancaster County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Lancaster County homeowners, 102,504 of 148,550 owner-occupied homes (69.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 6.3% (9,418)
- $800 to $1,499 6.6% (9,741)
- $1,500 to $1,999 3.9% (5,860)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.1% (18,034)
- $3,000 or more 69.0% (102,504)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,993 homes here (2.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Pennsylvania handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Lancaster County pay about the same bill, a 4% gap.
Lancaster County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Lancaster County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Lancaster County's median bill is 20% above the Pennsylvania median and 99% above the U.S. median.
Same rate as Pennsylvania, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 2% of the Pennsylvania median, yet the median bill runs 20% above it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to costlier housing produces $3,975 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Lancaster County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania 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 | 4.6% | - | - |
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 Lancaster County's $3,975 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Lancaster County's $3,975 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $398/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Pennsylvania.
Lancaster County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,975 +0.9% | 1.32% |
| 2023 | $3,941 +0.7% | 1.41% |
| 2022 | $3,913 +6.4% | 1.48% |
| 2021 | $3,677 +3.1% | 1.60% |
| 2020 | $3,565 | 1.63% |
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.
Lancaster County: tax takes 4.6% of income
Counties near Lancaster County's median bill
On effective rate, Lancaster County sits nearest Valley County (NE), Phelps County (NE), Johnson County (NE).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Stewart County (TN), Fond du Lac County (WI), Otsego County (NY).
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
Lancaster County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 15,790 of 276,970 returns from Lancaster County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,335 - 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 Pennsylvania
Lancaster County bill FAQs
- How does Lancaster County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Lancaster County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.32% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania?
- The median annual property tax in Lancaster County is $3,975, an effective rate of 1.32% on a $301,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Lancaster County?
- Property taxes in Lancaster County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.6% of the $86,959 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Lancaster County?
- Lancaster County, Pennsylvania scores F (23/100) 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 B- (+$164). 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 Lancaster County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Lancaster County climbed 11.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,565 to $3,975, 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 Lancaster County's HEAVY bill
Lancaster County's $3,975 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Lancaster County ranks #26 of 67 Pennsylvania counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Pennsylvania overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Lancaster 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: 1.32%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,975/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Lancaster County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Lancaster County (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Nantucket County, MA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,974/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.25% vs Lancaster County 1.32%.
Ramsey County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,966/yr (near-tied bill ABS $9); rate 1.21% vs Lancaster County 1.32%.
Lincoln County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,990/yr (near-tied bill ABS $15); rate 1.15% vs Lancaster County 1.32%.
San Joaquin County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,960/yr (near-tied bill ABS $15); rate 0.75% vs Lancaster County 1.32%.
Pennsylvania county set
State ACS overview for every published Pennsylvania county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Lancaster 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 Lancaster County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.