South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Lexington County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Lexington County pays $1,151 a year, an effective rate of 0.49%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,151
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.49%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -42%
- vs U.S. average
- #26 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Lexington County pay a median $1,151 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.49%, more affordable than 84% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,151
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.49%
- Effective rate on median home
- #486 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -42%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($234,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 304,887. Owner-occupied homes: 94,401.
The median annual property tax in Lexington County is $1,151, which is 8% lower than the South Carolina state average and 42% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.49% on a median home value of $234,500. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Lexington County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Lexington County's 0.49% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 84%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Lexington County pay a median annual property tax of $1,151, well below the national median and modestly below the South Carolina state median. On a $234,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.49% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Lexington County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $77,408 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of South Carolina counties by effective rate
Lexington County ranks #26 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (43% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Lexington 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
Lexington County's effective rate fell 14.6% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 43.7%, leaving the median bill 22.7% higher at $1,151. That rate move is larger than the one in 62% 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 $938 to $1,151, a gain of 23%. 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 32,064 of 94,401 owner-occupied homes (34.0%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 1.5% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
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 Lexington County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Lexington County homeowners, 32,064 of 94,401 owner-occupied homes (34.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 28.8% (27,168)
- $800 to $1,499 34.0% (32,064)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.8% (10,163)
- $2,000 to $2,999 11.0% (10,393)
- $3,000 or more 8.2% (7,788)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
6,825 homes here (7.2%) 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 Lexington County pay a substantially higher bill, 44% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Lexington County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Lexington County's effective rate is higher than 43% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #26 of 46.
Where Lexington County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.49% Among the most affordable more affordable than 84% 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
Close to the South Carolina median on both measures
Rate and bill both land within 10% of the South Carolina medians here, which makes Lexington County a reasonable stand-in for the state when comparing against counties elsewhere. It also means the county-level figure adds little beyond the state figure for this particular comparison; the $1,151 median bill and the state median tell substantially the same story.
Lexington County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Lexington County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median 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.
Lexington County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Lexington County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,151 +1.3% | 0.49% |
| 2023 | $1,136 +4.9% | 0.52% |
| 2022 | $1,083 +11.0% | 0.55% |
| 2021 | $976 +4.1% | 0.57% |
| 2020 | $938 | 0.57% |
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.
Lexington County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Lexington County's effective rate
On effective rate, Lexington County sits nearest Grant County (OK), Sioux County (ND), Ashe County (NC).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are McLean County (ND), Tulsa County (OK), Cumberland County (TN).
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
Lexington County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 8,640 of 144,130 returns from Lexington County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,132 - 36% 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
Lexington County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Lexington County?
- Lexington 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 income room at A- (1.5%). 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 Lexington County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Lexington County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.49% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Lexington County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Lexington County is $1,151, an effective rate of 0.49% on a $234,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Lexington County?
- Property taxes in Lexington County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $77,408 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Lexington County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Lexington County jumped 22.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $938 to $1,151, 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 Lexington County's QUIET rate
Lexington County's $1,151 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 Lexington County's $77,408 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Lexington 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: 0.49%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,151/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Lexington County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Lexington County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Caldwell County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,150/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.60% vs Lexington County 0.49%.
Liberty County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,152/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.90% vs Lexington County 0.49%.
Bracken County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,149/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.92% vs Lexington County 0.49%.
Duval County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,148/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.28% vs Lexington County 0.49%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Lexington 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 Lexington County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.