Delaware · County property tax · ACS 2024
New Castle County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in New Castle County pays $2,499 a year, an effective rate of 0.71%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,499
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.71%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +25%
- vs U.S. average
- #1 of 3
- rank in DE
The verdict
Homeowners in New Castle County pay a median $2,499 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.71%, more affordable than 58% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,499
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.71%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1302 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +25%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($352,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Delaware. Population: 577,961. Owner-occupied homes: 154,724.
The median annual property tax in New Castle County is $2,499, which is 41% higher than the Delaware state average and 25% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.71% on a median home value of $352,200. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.
New Castle County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
New Castle County's 0.71% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 58%).
Decision signal 2
Low among Delaware counties by effective rate
New Castle County ranks #1 of 3 counties in Delaware by effective rate (67% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in New Castle County pay a median annual property tax of $2,499, well above the national median and well above the Delaware state median. On a $352,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.71% 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 New Castle County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $91,166 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in New Castle 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 8.1% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 67% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 32.2%, the median bill rose 21.4% to $2,499: 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 $2,058 to $2,499, a gain of 21%. 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: 56,099 of 154,724 owner-occupied homes (36.3%) 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.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 2.7% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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 New Castle County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of New Castle County homeowners, 56,099 of 154,724 owner-occupied homes (36.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 8.4% (13,051)
- $800 to $1,499 14.8% (22,866)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.1% (20,292)
- $2,000 to $2,999 23.8% (36,812)
- $3,000 or more 36.3% (56,099)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
5,604 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Delaware handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in New Castle County pay about the same bill, a 3% gap.
New Castle County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
New Castle County's effective rate is higher than 67% of the 3 counties in Delaware - ranking #1 of 3.
Where New Castle County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.71% more affordable than 58% 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
Above Delaware on both measures
New Castle County's effective rate runs 42% over the Delaware median and its bill 41% over. When both move together the rate is not being offset by cheaper housing, so the $2,499 median bill is carrying the full weight of the higher rate rather than a valuation difference. This is a comparison of two published medians, not a statement about any individual parcel.
New Castle County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | New Castle County | Delaware Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.7% | - | - |
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.
New Castle County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Delaware counties.
New Castle County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,499 +2.3% | 0.71% |
| 2023 | $2,444 +3.2% | 0.74% |
| 2022 | $2,369 +7.9% | 0.76% |
| 2021 | $2,196 +6.7% | 0.80% |
| 2020 | $2,058 | 0.77% |
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.
New Castle County: tax-to-income at 2.7%
Counties near New Castle County's effective rate
On effective rate, New Castle County sits nearest Stanislaus County (CA), San Francisco County (CA), Amador County (CA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Sullivan County (IN), Trimble County (KY), District of Columbia (DC).
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
New Castle County: only 9% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 25,170 of 280,600 returns from New Castle County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,768 - 37% 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 Delaware
View all counties in Delaware →New Castle County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in New Castle County, Delaware?
- The median annual property tax in New Castle County is $2,499, an effective rate of 0.71% on a $352,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does New Castle County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in New Castle County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.71% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for New Castle County?
- New Castle County, Delaware scores D (48/100) 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- (+$71). 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 New Castle County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for New Castle County jumped 21.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,058 to $2,499, 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 New Castle County?
- Property taxes in New Castle County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $91,166 median household income.
What to do with New Castle County's UNDER rate
New Castle County's $2,499 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
New Castle County ranks #1 of 3 Delaware counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Delaware overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for New Castle County's UNDER 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: 0.71%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,499/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with New Castle County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for New Castle County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Moody County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,500/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.10% vs New Castle County 0.71%.
Silver Bow County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,500/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.98% vs New Castle County 0.71%.
Westmoreland County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,501/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.23% vs New Castle County 0.71%.
Geary County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,496/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.45% vs New Castle County 0.71%.
Delaware county set
State ACS overview for every published Delaware county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
New Castle County stamps UNDER · 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 New Castle County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.