California · County property tax · ACS 2024
San Benito County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in San Benito County pays $6,441 a year, an effective rate of 0.81%, far above the U.S. average.
- $6,441
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.81%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +223%
- vs U.S. average
- #4 of 58
- rank in CA
The verdict
Homeowners in San Benito County pay a median $6,441 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.81%, more affordable than 49% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $6,441
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.81%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1591 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +223%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($793,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for California. Population: 67,290. Owner-occupied homes: 13,970.
The median annual property tax in San Benito County is $6,441, which is 26% higher than the California state average and 223% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.81% on a median home value of $793,400. Property taxes represent 5.6% of the median household income in this county.
Why San Benito County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in San Benito County pay a median annual property tax of $6,441, far above the national median and well above the California state median. On a $793,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.81% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in San Benito County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.6% of the $114,394 median household income.
Decision signal 3
Low among California counties by effective rate
San Benito County ranks #4 of 58 counties in California by effective rate (93% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
San Benito County's 0.81% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 49%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in San Benito 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
San Benito County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 1.9% down, against a median home value that rose 34.8%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 32.2%, from $4,872 to $6,441.
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 32% from $4,872 to $6,441. 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: 11,116 of 13,970 owner-occupied homes (79.6%) 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.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 5.6% 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 San Benito County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of San Benito County homeowners, 11,116 of 13,970 owner-occupied homes (79.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 3.2% (445)
- $800 to $1,499 5.4% (752)
- $1,500 to $1,999 2.3% (328)
- $2,000 to $2,999 7.2% (1,007)
- $3,000 or more 79.6% (11,116)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
322 homes here (2.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how California handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in San Benito County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+80%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
San Benito County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around San Benito County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
San Benito County's median bill is 26% above the California median and 223% above the U.S. median.
What changed since 2020
The median bill in San Benito County moved from $4,872 in the 2020 release to $6,441 in 2024, a change of about 32%. 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.
San Benito County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | San Benito County | California 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 San Benito County's $6,441 median bill appeal-worthy?
At San Benito County's $6,441 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $644/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for California.
San Benito County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $6,441 +6.0% | 0.81% |
| 2023 | $6,078 +4.7% | 0.81% |
| 2022 | $5,803 +11.1% | 0.83% |
| 2021 | $5,221 +7.2% | 0.84% |
| 2020 | $4,872 | 0.83% |
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.
San Benito County: tax takes 5.6% of income
Counties near San Benito County's median bill
On effective rate, San Benito County sits nearest Phillips County (AR), Hillsborough County (FL), Miami-Dade County (FL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lawrence County (IL), Roberts County (TX), Mills County (IA).
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
San Benito County: only 18% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 5,910 of 31,960 returns from San Benito County reported real estate taxes, averaging $7,874 - 45% 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 California
San Benito County bill FAQs
- How does San Benito County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in San Benito County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.81% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in San Benito County, California?
- The median annual property tax in San Benito County is $6,441, an effective rate of 0.81% on a $793,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in San Benito County?
- Property taxes in San Benito County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.6% of the $114,394 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in San Benito County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for San Benito County jumped 32.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $4,872 to $6,441, 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 is the tax affordability score for San Benito County?
- San Benito County, California scores F (15/100) 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 rate relief at D (0.81%). 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.
What to do with San Benito County's SPIKE bill
San Benito County's $6,441 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 San Benito County's $114,394 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for San Benito 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: 0.81%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $6,441/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with San Benito County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for San Benito County (UNDER · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER SPIKE
Essex County, MA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,430/yr (near-tied bill ABS $11); rate 1.04% vs San Benito County 0.81%.
Capitol Planning Region, CT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,454/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 1.99% vs San Benito County 0.81%.
Dane County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,420/yr (near-tied bill ABS $21); rate 1.63% vs San Benito County 0.81%.
Rockwall County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,396/yr (near-tied bill ABS $45); rate 1.54% vs San Benito County 0.81%.
California county set
State ACS overview for every published California county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
San Benito County stamps UNDER · 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 San Benito County (UNDER · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.