Massachusetts · County property tax · ACS 2024
Middlesex County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Middlesex County pays $7,501 a year, an effective rate of 1.03%, far above the U.S. average.
- $7,501
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.03%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +276%
- vs U.S. average
- #10 of 14
- rank in MA
The verdict
Homeowners in Middlesex County pay a median $7,501 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.03%, more affordable than 33% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $7,501
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.03%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2102 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +276%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($727,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Massachusetts. Population: 1,638,365. Owner-occupied homes: 388,893.
The median annual property tax in Middlesex County is $7,501, which is 25% higher than the Massachusetts state average and 276% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.03% on a median home value of $727,800. Property taxes represent 5.7% of the median household income in this county.
Why Middlesex County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Middlesex County pay a median annual property tax of $7,501, far above the national median and well above the Massachusetts state median. On a $727,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.03% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Middlesex County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.7% of the $130,847 median household income.
Decision signal 3
High among Massachusetts counties by effective rate
Middlesex County ranks #10 of 14 counties in Massachusetts by effective rate (29% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Middlesex County's 1.03% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 33%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Middlesex 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 11.2% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 54% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 34.7%, the median bill rose 19.6% to $7,501: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 $6,274 to $7,501, a gain of 20%. 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: 347,493 of 388,893 owner-occupied homes (89.4%) 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.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 5.7% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 Middlesex County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Middlesex County homeowners, 347,493 of 388,893 owner-occupied homes (89.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 1.4% (5,305)
- $800 to $1,499 1.9% (7,397)
- $1,500 to $1,999 1.4% (5,609)
- $2,000 to $2,999 4.2% (16,237)
- $3,000 or more 89.4% (347,493)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
6,852 homes here (1.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Massachusetts handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Middlesex County pay about the same bill, a 1% gap.
Middlesex County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Middlesex County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Middlesex County's median bill is 25% above the Massachusetts median and 276% above the U.S. median.
Same rate as Massachusetts, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 4% of the Massachusetts median, yet the median bill runs 25% 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 $7,501 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Middlesex County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Middlesex County | Massachusetts Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 5.7% | - | - |
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 Middlesex County's $7,501 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Middlesex County's $7,501 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $750/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Massachusetts.
Middlesex County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $7,501 +3.6% | 1.03% |
| 2023 | $7,240 +2.9% | 1.05% |
| 2022 | $7,037 +6.9% | 1.08% |
| 2021 | $6,582 +4.9% | 1.14% |
| 2020 | $6,274 | 1.16% |
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.
Middlesex County: tax takes 5.7% of income
Counties near Middlesex County's median bill
On effective rate, Middlesex County sits nearest Monona County (IA), Pope County (IL), Glascock County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Cass County (TX), Lake of the Woods County (MN), Starr 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
Middlesex County: only 13% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 108,480 of 825,030 returns from Middlesex County reported real estate taxes, averaging $10,825 - 47% of those reporters sat in the $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 Massachusetts
Middlesex County bill FAQs
- How does Middlesex County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Middlesex County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.03% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Middlesex County, Massachusetts?
- The median annual property tax in Middlesex County is $7,501, an effective rate of 1.03% on a $727,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Middlesex County?
- Property taxes in Middlesex County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.7% of the $130,847 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Middlesex County?
- Middlesex County, Massachusetts 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 A- (+$66). 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 Middlesex County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Middlesex County climbed 19.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $6,274 to $7,501, 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 Middlesex County's SPIKE bill
Middlesex County's $7,501 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 5.7% of Middlesex County's $130,847 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Middlesex County's SPIKE 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: 1.03%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $7,501/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Middlesex County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Middlesex County (PAR · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR SPIKE
Collin County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,521/yr (near-tied bill ABS $20); rate 1.58% vs Middlesex County 1.03%.
Dutchess County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,562/yr (higher bill ABS $61); rate 1.89% vs Middlesex County 1.03%.
Kane County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,382/yr (lower bill ABS $119); rate 2.26% vs Middlesex County 1.03%.
Fairfax County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,368/yr (lower bill ABS $133); rate 1.01% vs Middlesex County 1.03%.
Massachusetts county set
State ACS overview for every published Massachusetts county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Middlesex County stamps PAR · SPIKE - 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 Middlesex County (PAR · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.