Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Orange County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Orange County pays $2,152 a year, an effective rate of 1.24%, modestly above the U.S. average.
- $2,152
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.24%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +8%
- vs U.S. average
- #113 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Orange County pay a median $2,152 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.24%, more affordable than 22% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,152
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.24%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2456 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +8%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($173,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 85,307. Owner-occupied homes: 24,383.
The median annual property tax in Orange County is $2,152, which is 49% lower than the Texas state average and 8% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.24% on a median home value of $173,400. Property taxes represent 3.0% of the median household income in this county.
Orange County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Orange County's 1.24% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 22%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Texas median
Homeowners in Orange County pay a median annual property tax of $2,152, modestly above the national median and well below the Texas state median. On a $173,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.24% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Texas counties by effective rate
Orange County ranks #113 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (55% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Orange County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $72,104 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Orange 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
Orange County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 1.8% down, against a median home value that rose 49.4%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 46.6%, from $1,468 to $2,152.
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 47% from $1,468 to $2,152. 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: 7,818 of 24,383 owner-occupied homes (32.1%) 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.
The rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 3.0% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to here.
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 Orange County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Orange County homeowners, 7,818 of 24,383 owner-occupied homes (32.1%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 19.8% (4,818)
- $800 to $1,499 14.9% (3,635)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.2% (2,479)
- $2,000 to $2,999 18.4% (4,479)
- $3,000 or more 32.1% (7,818)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,154 homes here (4.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Orange County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+99%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Orange County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Orange County's effective rate is higher than 55% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #113 of 250.
Where Orange County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.24% more affordable than 22% 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 Orange County moved from $1,468 in the 2020 release to $2,152 in 2024, a change of about 47%. 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.
Orange County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Orange County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.0% | - | - |
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.
Orange County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Texas counties.
Orange County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,152 +5.7% | 1.24% |
| 2023 | $2,036 +9.1% | 1.25% |
| 2022 | $1,866 +11.3% | 1.22% |
| 2021 | $1,677 +14.2% | 1.27% |
| 2020 | $1,468 | 1.26% |
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.
Orange County: tax-to-income at 3.0%
Counties near Orange County's effective rate
On effective rate, Orange County sits nearest Medina County (OH), Gratiot County (MI), Ellis County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Tillman County (OK), Clear Creek County (CO), Cherokee County (GA).
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
Orange County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,460 of 35,950 returns from Orange County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,510 - 41% 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 Texas
Orange County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Orange County?
- Orange County, Texas scores F (30/100) 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 B (2.40×). 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 Orange County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Orange County run modestly above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.24% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Orange County, Texas?
- The median annual property tax in Orange County is $2,152, an effective rate of 1.24% on a $173,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Orange County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Orange County jumped 46.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,468 to $2,152, 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 Orange County?
- Property taxes in Orange County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $72,104 median household income.
What to do with Orange County's PAR rate
Inside Texas, Orange County's $2,152 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Texas overview →
Orange County ranks #113 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Orange County's PAR 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: 1.24%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,152/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Orange County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Orange County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Santa Fe County, NM
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Orange County at $2,152/yr; rate 0.48% vs Orange County 1.24%.
Calhoun County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,153/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.26% vs Orange County 1.24%.
Dickinson County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,154/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.47% vs Orange County 1.24%.
Price County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,150/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.32% vs Orange County 1.24%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Orange County stamps PAR · 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 Orange County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.