Washington · County property tax · ACS 2024
San Juan County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in San Juan County pays $4,253 a year, an effective rate of 0.53%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,253
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.53%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- +113%
- vs U.S. average
- #39 of 39
- rank in WA
The verdict
Homeowners in San Juan County pay a median $4,253 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.53%, more affordable than 80% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,253
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.53%
- Effective rate on median home
- #619 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +113%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($799,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Washington. Population: 18,478. Owner-occupied homes: 7,031.
The median annual property tax in San Juan County is $4,253, which is 7% lower than the Washington state average and 113% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.53% on a median home value of $799,200. Property taxes represent 5.0% of the median household income in this county.
Why San Juan County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in San Juan County pay a median annual property tax of $4,253, far above the national median and modestly below the Washington state median. On a $799,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.53% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
High among Washington counties by effective rate
San Juan County ranks #39 of 39 counties in Washington by effective rate (0% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in San Juan County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.0% of the $84,800 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
San Juan County's 0.53% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 80%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in San Juan 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
San Juan County's effective rate fell 14.8% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 49.3%, leaving the median bill 27.3% higher at $4,253. That rate move is larger than the one in 62% 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 27% from $3,342 to $4,253. 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: 4,643 of 7,031 owner-occupied homes (66.0%) 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 5.0% 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.
San Juan County is an outlier inside Washington
Across the 39 Washington counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 0.73%. San Juan County is at 0.53%, which sits 2.3 standard deviations below that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What San Juan County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of San Juan County homeowners, 4,643 of 7,031 owner-occupied homes (66.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.2% (292)
- $800 to $1,499 5.1% (360)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.4% (452)
- $2,000 to $2,999 15.1% (1,062)
- $3,000 or more 66.0% (4,643)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
222 homes here (3.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Washington handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In San Juan County, mortgaged homeowners actually pay 12% less than those without a mortgage, a mild inversion from the national norm worth cross-checking against the historical table above.
San Juan County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around San Juan County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
San Juan County's median bill is 7% below the Washington median and 113% above the U.S. median.
What changed since 2020
The median bill in San Juan County moved from $3,342 in the 2020 release to $4,253 in 2024, a change of about 27%. 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 Juan County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | San Juan County | Washington Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 5.0% | - | - |
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.
Is San Juan County's $4,253 median bill appeal-worthy?
At San Juan County's $4,253 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $425/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Washington.
San Juan County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,253 +3.0% | 0.53% |
| 2023 | $4,131 +4.0% | 0.57% |
| 2022 | $3,974 +11.6% | 0.59% |
| 2021 | $3,561 +6.6% | 0.62% |
| 2020 | $3,342 | 0.62% |
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 Juan County: tax takes 5.0% of income
Counties near San Juan County's median bill
On effective rate, San Juan County sits nearest Wythe County (VA), Rockingham County (VA), Madison County (VA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Guthrie County (IA), Monroe County (TN), Lowndes 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
San Juan County: only 12% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,220 of 9,800 returns from San Juan County reported real estate taxes, averaging $10,518 - 39% 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 Washington
San Juan County bill FAQs
- How does San Juan County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in San Juan County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.53% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in San Juan County?
- Property taxes in San Juan County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.0% of the $84,800 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in San Juan County, Washington?
- The median annual property tax in San Juan County is $4,253, an effective rate of 0.53% on a $799,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in San Juan County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for San Juan County jumped 27.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,342 to $4,253, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
- What is the tax affordability score for San Juan County?
- San Juan County, Washington scores D (41/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-559). 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 Juan County's HEAVY bill
San Juan County's $4,253 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 5.0% of San Juan County's $84,800 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for San Juan 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: 0.53%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,253/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with San Juan County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for San Juan County (QUIET · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET HEAVY
Juneau City and Borough, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,251/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.95% vs San Juan County 0.53%.
Wayne County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,250/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 2.50% vs San Juan County 0.53%.
Franklin County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,244/yr (near-tied bill ABS $9); rate 1.47% vs San Juan County 0.53%.
Kankakee County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,266/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 2.21% vs San Juan County 0.53%.
Washington county set
State ACS overview for every published Washington county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
San Juan County stamps QUIET · HEAVY - 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 Juan County (QUIET · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.