Massachusetts · County property tax · ACS 2024
Norfolk County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Norfolk County pays $7,261 a year, an effective rate of 1.06%, far above the U.S. average.
- $7,261
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.06%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +264%
- vs U.S. average
- #8 of 14
- rank in MA
The verdict
Homeowners in Norfolk County pay a median $7,261 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.06%, more affordable than 31% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $7,261
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.06%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2165 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +264%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($683,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Massachusetts. Population: 730,082. Owner-occupied homes: 194,812.
The median annual property tax in Norfolk County is $7,261, which is 21% higher than the Massachusetts state average and 264% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.06% on a median home value of $683,900. Property taxes represent 5.6% of the median household income in this county.
Why Norfolk County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Norfolk County pay a median annual property tax of $7,261, far above the national median and notably higher than the Massachusetts state median. On a $683,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.06% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Norfolk County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.6% of the $130,739 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Norfolk County's 1.06% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 31%).
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Massachusetts counties by effective rate
Norfolk County ranks #8 of 14 counties in Massachusetts by effective rate (43% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Norfolk 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
Norfolk County's effective rate fell 14.5% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 39.3%, leaving the median bill 19.0% higher at $7,261. That rate move is larger than the one in 61% 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 $6,100 to $7,261, a gain of 19%. 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: 176,141 of 194,812 owner-occupied homes (90.4%) 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 5.6% 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 Norfolk County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Norfolk County homeowners, 176,141 of 194,812 owner-occupied homes (90.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 1.4% (2,810)
- $800 to $1,499 1.4% (2,682)
- $1,500 to $1,999 1.3% (2,496)
- $2,000 to $2,999 3.2% (6,325)
- $3,000 or more 90.4% (176,141)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
4,358 homes here (2.2%) 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 Norfolk County pay about the same bill, a 0% gap.
Norfolk County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Norfolk County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Norfolk County's median bill is 21% above the Massachusetts median and 264% above the U.S. median.
Same rate as Massachusetts, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 1% of the Massachusetts median, yet the median bill runs 21% 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 $7,261 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Norfolk County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Norfolk 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 | 5.6% | - | - |
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 Norfolk County's $7,261 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Norfolk County's $7,261 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $726/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Massachusetts.
Norfolk County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $7,261 +2.5% | 1.06% |
| 2023 | $7,081 +3.5% | 1.09% |
| 2022 | $6,840 +6.4% | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $6,431 +5.4% | 1.22% |
| 2020 | $6,100 | 1.24% |
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.
Norfolk County: tax takes 5.6% of income
Counties near Norfolk County's median bill
On effective rate, Norfolk County sits nearest Allegany County (MD), Crawford County (KS), North Slope Borough (AK).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Clay County (NE), Ziebach County (SD), Columbus County (NC).
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
Norfolk County: only 15% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 55,720 of 370,240 returns from Norfolk County reported real estate taxes, averaging $11,234 - 46% 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
Norfolk County bill FAQs
- How does Norfolk County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Norfolk County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.06% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Norfolk County, Massachusetts?
- The median annual property tax in Norfolk County is $7,261, an effective rate of 1.06% on a $683,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Norfolk County?
- Property taxes in Norfolk County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.6% of the $130,739 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Norfolk County?
- Norfolk County, Massachusetts scores F (24/100) 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 (+$1). 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 Norfolk County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Norfolk County climbed 19.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $6,100 to $7,261, 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 Norfolk County's SPIKE bill
Norfolk County's $7,261 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 5.6% of Norfolk County's $130,739 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Norfolk 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: 1.06%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $7,261/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Norfolk County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Norfolk County (PAR · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR SPIKE
Teton County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,267/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 0.44% vs Norfolk County 1.06%.
McHenry County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,274/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 2.36% vs Norfolk County 1.06%.
Williamson County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,205/yr (lower bill ABS $56); rate 1.61% vs Norfolk County 1.06%.
Will County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,173/yr (lower bill ABS $88); rate 2.24% vs Norfolk County 1.06%.
Massachusetts county set
State ACS overview for every published Massachusetts county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Norfolk 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 Norfolk County (PAR · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.