Pennsylvania · County property tax · ACS 2024
Luzerne County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Luzerne County pays $2,530 a year, an effective rate of 1.45%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,530
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.45%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +27%
- vs U.S. average
- #15 of 67
- rank in PA
The verdict
Homeowners in Luzerne County pay a median $2,530 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.45%, more affordable than 13% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,530
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.45%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2737 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +27%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($174,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Pennsylvania. Population: 327,675. Owner-occupied homes: 91,565.
The median annual property tax in Luzerne County is $2,530, which is 24% lower than the Pennsylvania state average and 27% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.45% on a median home value of $174,100. Property taxes represent 4.0% of the median household income in this county.
Luzerne County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Luzerne County's 1.45% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 13%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Pennsylvania counties by effective rate
Luzerne County ranks #15 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by effective rate (78% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Luzerne County pay a median annual property tax of $2,530, well above the national median and notably lower than the Pennsylvania state median. On a $174,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.45% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Luzerne County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $63,691 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Luzerne 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
Luzerne County's effective rate fell 14.0% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 34.3%, leaving the median bill 15.5% higher at $2,530. That rate move is larger than the one in 59% 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 $2,191 to $2,530, a gain of 15%. 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: 35,472 of 91,565 owner-occupied homes (38.7%) 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.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 4.0% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned here.
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 Luzerne County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Luzerne County homeowners, 35,472 of 91,565 owner-occupied homes (38.7%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 8.4% (7,670)
- $800 to $1,499 16.7% (15,292)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.4% (11,369)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.0% (19,242)
- $3,000 or more 38.7% (35,472)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,520 homes here (2.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Pennsylvania handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Luzerne County, mortgaged homeowners pay 18% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Luzerne County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Luzerne County's effective rate is higher than 78% of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania - ranking #15 of 67.
Where Luzerne County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.45% more affordable than 13% 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
Luzerne County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.0% | - | - |
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.
Luzerne County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Luzerne County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $174,100 median home carries a $2,530 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $253 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Pennsylvania.
Luzerne County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,530 +1.0% | 1.45% |
| 2023 | $2,506 +2.7% | 1.53% |
| 2022 | $2,441 +6.9% | 1.60% |
| 2021 | $2,283 +4.2% | 1.71% |
| 2020 | $2,191 | 1.69% |
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.
Luzerne County: tax-to-income at 4.0%
Counties near Luzerne County's effective rate
On effective rate, Luzerne County sits nearest Webster County (NE), Dawes County (NE), Adams County (NE).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Isabella County (MI), Calloway County (KY), Grand Traverse County (MI).
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
Luzerne County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 4,230 of 163,160 returns from Luzerne County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,079 - 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 Pennsylvania
Luzerne County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Luzerne County?
- Luzerne County, Pennsylvania scores F (25/100) 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 housing pressure at C (2.73×). 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.
- What is the average property tax in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania?
- The median annual property tax in Luzerne County is $2,530, an effective rate of 1.45% on a $174,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Luzerne County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Luzerne County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.45% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Luzerne County?
- Property taxes in Luzerne County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $63,691 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Luzerne County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Luzerne County climbed 15.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,191 to $2,530, 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 Luzerne County's STEEP rate
Luzerne County's $2,530 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Luzerne County ranks #15 of 67 Pennsylvania counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Pennsylvania overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Luzerne County's STEEP 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: 1.45%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,530/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Luzerne County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Luzerne County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Fannin County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,529/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.08% vs Luzerne County 1.45%.
Sherman County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,531/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.72% vs Luzerne County 1.45%.
Tom Green County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,532/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.29% vs Luzerne County 1.45%.
Davison County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,526/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.23% vs Luzerne County 1.45%.
Pennsylvania county set
State ACS overview for every published Pennsylvania county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Luzerne County stamps STEEP · MID - 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 Luzerne County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.