Utah · County property tax · ACS 2024
Salt Lake County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Salt Lake County pays $2,836 a year, an effective rate of 0.54%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,836
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.54%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- +42%
- vs U.S. average
- #8 of 29
- rank in UT
The verdict
Homeowners in Salt Lake County pay a median $2,836 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.54%, more affordable than 79% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,836
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.54%
- Effective rate on median home
- #659 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +42%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($525,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Utah. Population: 1,196,523. Owner-occupied homes: 281,875.
The median annual property tax in Salt Lake County is $2,836, which is 12% higher than the Utah state average and 42% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.54% on a median home value of $525,700. Property taxes represent 2.9% of the median household income in this county.
Salt Lake County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Salt Lake County's 0.54% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 79%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Salt Lake County pay a median annual property tax of $2,836, well above the national median and notably higher than the Utah state median. On a $525,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.54% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Utah counties by effective rate
Salt Lake County ranks #8 of 29 counties in Utah by effective rate (72% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Salt Lake County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.9% of the $97,494 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Salt Lake 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
Salt Lake County's effective rate fell 17.2% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 56.4%, leaving the median bill 29.5% higher at $2,836. That rate move is larger than the one in 73% 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 29% from $2,190 to $2,836. 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: 120,144 of 281,875 owner-occupied homes (42.6%) 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.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 2.9% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
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 Salt Lake County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Salt Lake County homeowners, 120,144 of 281,875 owner-occupied homes (42.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 3.5% (9,897)
- $800 to $1,499 6.2% (17,375)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.7% (27,456)
- $2,000 to $2,999 34.5% (97,368)
- $3,000 or more 42.6% (120,144)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
9,635 homes here (3.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Utah handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Salt Lake County pay about the same bill, within a 4% gap either way.
Salt Lake County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Salt Lake County's effective rate is higher than 72% of the 29 counties in Utah - ranking #8 of 29.
Where Salt Lake County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.54% Among the most affordable more affordable than 79% 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 Salt Lake County moved from $2,190 in the 2020 release to $2,836 in 2024, a change of about 29%. 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.
Salt Lake County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Salt Lake County | Utah Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.9% | - | - |
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.
Salt Lake County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Utah counties.
Salt Lake County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,836 +4.0% | 0.54% |
| 2023 | $2,726 +5.3% | 0.56% |
| 2022 | $2,590 +9.5% | 0.59% |
| 2021 | $2,365 +8.0% | 0.64% |
| 2020 | $2,190 | 0.65% |
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.
Salt Lake County: tax-to-income at 2.9%
Counties near Salt Lake County's effective rate
On effective rate, Salt Lake County sits nearest Houston County (TN), Hawkins County (TN), Anderson County (TN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Summers County (WV), Clay County (TX), Sarpy County (NE).
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
Salt Lake County: only 12% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 66,680 of 565,830 returns from Salt Lake County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,666 - 39% 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 Utah
Salt Lake County rate FAQs
- How does Salt Lake County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Salt Lake County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.54% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Salt Lake County, Utah?
- The median annual property tax in Salt Lake County is $2,836, an effective rate of 0.54% on a $525,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Salt Lake County?
- Salt Lake County, Utah scores C- (52/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-121). 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 Salt Lake County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Salt Lake County jumped 29.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,190 to $2,836, 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 Salt Lake County?
- Property taxes in Salt Lake County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.9% of the $97,494 median household income.
What to do with Salt Lake County's QUIET rate
Salt Lake County's $2,836 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Salt Lake County ranks #8 of 29 Utah counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Utah overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Salt Lake County's QUIET 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: 0.54%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,836/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Salt Lake County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Salt Lake County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Larimer County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,832/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.50% vs Salt Lake County 0.54%.
McLeod County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,840/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.15% vs Salt Lake County 0.54%.
Yellowstone County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,832/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.81% vs Salt Lake County 0.54%.
Black Hawk County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,842/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 1.50% vs Salt Lake County 0.54%.
Utah county set
State ACS overview for every published Utah county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Salt Lake County stamps QUIET · 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 Salt Lake County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.