California · County property tax · ACS 2024
Merced County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Merced County pays $2,634 a year, an effective rate of 0.67%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,634
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.67%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +32%
- vs U.S. average
- #42 of 58
- rank in CA
The verdict
Homeowners in Merced County pay a median $2,634 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.67%, more affordable than 63% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,634
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.67%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1158 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +32%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($391,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for California. Population: 290,201. Owner-occupied homes: 46,474.
The median annual property tax in Merced County is $2,634, which is 49% lower than the California state average and 32% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.67% on a median home value of $391,800. Property taxes represent 4.0% of the median household income in this county.
Merced County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Merced County's 0.67% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 63%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Merced County pay a median annual property tax of $2,634, well above the national median and well below the California state median. On a $391,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.67% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of California counties by effective rate
Merced County ranks #42 of 58 counties in California by effective rate (28% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Merced County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $65,510 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Merced 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
Merced County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 4.8% down, against a median home value that rose 45.8%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 38.7%, from $1,899 to $2,634.
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 $1,899 to $2,634. 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: 18,805 of 46,474 owner-occupied homes (40.5%) 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 4.0% 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 Merced County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Merced County homeowners, 18,805 of 46,474 owner-occupied homes (40.5%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.3% (4,300)
- $800 to $1,499 15.3% (7,099)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.7% (4,992)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.5% (9,041)
- $3,000 or more 40.5% (18,805)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,237 homes here (4.8%) 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 Merced County pay a substantially higher bill, 49% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Merced County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Merced County's effective rate is higher than 28% of the 58 counties in California - ranking #42 of 58.
Where Merced County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.67% Among the most affordable more affordable than 63% 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 Merced County moved from $1,899 in the 2020 release to $2,634 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.
Merced County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Merced County | California Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median 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.
Merced County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · California counties.
Merced County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,634 +5.9% | 0.67% |
| 2023 | $2,487 +6.8% | 0.68% |
| 2022 | $2,328 +14.5% | 0.68% |
| 2021 | $2,033 +7.1% | 0.70% |
| 2020 | $1,899 | 0.71% |
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.
Merced County: tax takes 4.0% of income
Counties near Merced County's effective rate
On effective rate, Merced County sits nearest Yakutat City and Borough (AK), Ketchikan Gateway Borough (AK), Hernando County (FL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Sully County (SD), Utah County (UT), 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
Merced County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 6,920 of 118,450 returns from Merced County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,616 - 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 California
Merced County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Merced County?
- Merced County, California scores F (29/100) 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+ (0.67%). 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 Merced County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Merced County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.67% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Merced County, California?
- The median annual property tax in Merced County is $2,634, an effective rate of 0.67% on a $391,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Merced County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Merced County jumped 38.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,899 to $2,634, 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 Merced County?
- Property taxes in Merced County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $65,510 median household income.
What to do with Merced County's QUIET rate
Merced County's $2,634 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Merced County ranks #42 of 58 California counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. California overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Merced 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: 0.67%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,634/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Merced County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Merced County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Emmet County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Merced County at $2,634/yr; rate 0.83% vs Merced County 0.67%.
Newport News city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Merced County at $2,634/yr; rate 1.01% vs Merced County 0.67%.
Somervell County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Merced County at $2,634/yr; rate 0.91% vs Merced County 0.67%.
Jasper County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,633/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.41% vs Merced County 0.67%.
California county set
State ACS overview for every published California county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Merced County stamps QUIET · 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 Merced County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.