Pennsylvania · County property tax · ACS 2024
Northampton County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Northampton County pays $4,700 a year, an effective rate of 1.52%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,700
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.52%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +136%
- vs U.S. average
- #10 of 67
- rank in PA
The verdict
Homeowners in Northampton County pay a median $4,700 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.52%, more affordable than 10% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,700
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.52%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2821 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +136%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($308,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Pennsylvania. Population: 318,580. Owner-occupied homes: 87,201.
The median annual property tax in Northampton County is $4,700, which is 42% higher than the Pennsylvania state average and 136% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.52% on a median home value of $308,600. Property taxes represent 5.3% of the median household income in this county.
Why Northampton County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Northampton County pay a median annual property tax of $4,700, far above the national median and well above the Pennsylvania state median. On a $308,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.52% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Northampton County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.3% of the $89,184 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate is a national headwind
Northampton County's 1.52% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 90% pay more.
Decision signal 4
Low among Pennsylvania counties by effective rate
Northampton County ranks #10 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by effective rate (85% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Northampton 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 gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Northampton County rose 37.9%, from $223,800 to $308,600. The effective rate fell 22.3% over the same span, a steeper move than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 7.2%, to $4,700. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $4,386 to $4,700, a change of 7%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 64,200 of 87,201 owner-occupied homes (73.6%) 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 are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 5.3% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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 Northampton County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Northampton County homeowners, 64,200 of 87,201 owner-occupied homes (73.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.7% (6,703)
- $800 to $1,499 5.9% (5,130)
- $1,500 to $1,999 3.1% (2,665)
- $2,000 to $2,999 8.3% (7,226)
- $3,000 or more 73.6% (64,200)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,277 homes here (1.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Pennsylvania handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Northampton County, mortgaged homeowners pay 15% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Northampton County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Northampton County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Northampton County's median bill is 42% above the Pennsylvania median and 136% above the U.S. median.
Among the highest-taxed counties in the country
At 1.52%, Northampton County sits in the top 10% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. That is the rate, not the bill: a high rate on a modest home can still produce a smaller cheque than a low rate on an expensive one, which is why the $4,700 median bill is the number to compare against another county.
Northampton County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Northampton County | Pennsylvania Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 5.3% | - | - |
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 Northampton County's $4,700 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Northampton County's $4,700 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $470/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Pennsylvania.
Northampton County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,700 -0.2% | 1.52% |
| 2023 | $4,710 +0.9% | 1.65% |
| 2022 | $4,667 +5.9% | 1.76% |
| 2021 | $4,409 +0.5% | 1.90% |
| 2020 | $4,386 | 1.96% |
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.
Northampton County: tax takes 5.3% of income
Counties near Northampton County's median bill
On effective rate, Northampton County sits nearest Pawnee County (NE), Washtenaw County (MI), Rice County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Ste. Genevieve County (MO), King William County (VA), Stark County (IL).
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
Northampton County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 10,090 of 159,490 returns from Northampton County reported real estate taxes, averaging $7,459 - 33% 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
Northampton County bill FAQs
- How does Northampton County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Northampton County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.52% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Northampton County, Pennsylvania?
- The median annual property tax in Northampton County is $4,700, an effective rate of 1.52% on a $308,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Northampton County?
- Property taxes in Northampton County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.3% of the $89,184 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Northampton County?
- Northampton County, Pennsylvania scores F (10/100) 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 F (3.46×). 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 Northampton County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Northampton County ticked up 7.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $4,386 to $4,700, 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 Northampton County's HEAVY bill
Northampton County's $4,700 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 5.3% of Northampton County's $89,184 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Northampton County's HEAVY 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: 1.52%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,700/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Northampton County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Northampton County (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Ellis County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,697/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.35% vs Northampton County 1.52%.
Nevada County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,694/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 0.75% vs Northampton County 1.52%.
Cumberland County, ME
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,707/yr (near-tied bill ABS $7); rate 1.04% vs Northampton County 1.52%.
Providence County, RI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,683/yr (near-tied bill ABS $17); rate 1.25% vs Northampton County 1.52%.
Pennsylvania county set
State ACS overview for every published Pennsylvania county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Northampton County stamps STEEP · HEAVY - 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 Northampton County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.