New Mexico · County property tax · ACS 2024
Santa Fe County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Santa Fe County pays $2,152 a year, an effective rate of 0.48%, modestly above the U.S. average.
- $2,152
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.48%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- +8%
- vs U.S. average
- #26 of 33
- rank in NM
The verdict
Homeowners in Santa Fe County pay a median $2,152 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.48%, more affordable than 85% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,152
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.48%
- Effective rate on median home
- #459 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 ($446,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for New Mexico. Population: 156,105. Owner-occupied homes: 50,603.
The median annual property tax in Santa Fe County is $2,152, which is 24% higher than the New Mexico state average and 8% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.48% on a median home value of $446,300. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.
Santa Fe County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Santa Fe County's 0.48% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 85%).
Decision signal 2
High among New Mexico counties by effective rate
Santa Fe County ranks #26 of 33 counties in New Mexico by effective rate (21% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits above the New Mexico median
Homeowners in Santa Fe County pay a median annual property tax of $2,152, modestly above the national median and notably higher than the New Mexico state median. On a $446,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.48% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Santa Fe County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $79,071 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Santa Fe 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
Santa Fe County's effective rate fell 13.7% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 51.4%, leaving the median bill 30.6% higher at $2,152. That rate move is larger than the one in 58% 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 31% from $1,648 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: 15,087 of 50,603 owner-occupied homes (29.8%) 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 2.7% 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 Santa Fe County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Santa Fe County homeowners, 15,087 of 50,603 owner-occupied homes (29.8%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 10.6% (5,389)
- $800 to $1,499 19.4% (9,800)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.2% (6,661)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.2% (9,708)
- $3,000 or more 29.8% (15,087)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
3,958 homes here (7.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how New Mexico handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Santa Fe County, mortgaged homeowners pay 11% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Santa Fe County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Santa Fe County's effective rate is higher than 21% of the 33 counties in New Mexico - ranking #26 of 33.
Where Santa Fe County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.48% Among the most affordable more affordable than 85% 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
A low rate, a bigger bill
Santa Fe County taxes property at 0.48%, roughly 31% below the New Mexico average, and still bills a median $2,152, about 24% above the state figure. Because the effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, that combination means local home values run well ahead of the state norm: a gentler rate applied to a larger base.
Santa Fe County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Santa Fe County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.7% | - | - |
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.
Santa Fe County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · New Mexico counties.
Santa Fe County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,152 +2.0% | 0.48% |
| 2023 | $2,110 +9.8% | 0.51% |
| 2022 | $1,921 +9.2% | 0.51% |
| 2021 | $1,759 +6.7% | 0.56% |
| 2020 | $1,648 | 0.56% |
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.
Santa Fe County: tax-to-income at 2.7%
Counties near Santa Fe County's effective rate
On effective rate, Santa Fe County sits nearest Clark County (NV), Mineral County (MT), Choctaw County (MS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Marion County (MS), Laclede County (MO), Autauga County (AL).
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
Santa Fe County: only 9% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 7,790 of 83,140 returns from Santa Fe County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,168 - 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 New Mexico
Santa Fe County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Santa Fe County?
- Santa Fe County, New Mexico scores C- (53/100) 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 A (0.48%). 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 is the average property tax in Santa Fe County, New Mexico?
- The median annual property tax in Santa Fe County is $2,152, an effective rate of 0.48% on a $446,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Santa Fe County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Santa Fe County run modestly above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.48% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Santa Fe County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Santa Fe County jumped 30.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,648 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 Santa Fe County?
- Property taxes in Santa Fe County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $79,071 median household income.
What to do with Santa Fe County's QUIET rate
Inside New Mexico, Santa Fe County's $2,152 median bill runs high versus the state median - compare the rest of the state before judging the burden. New Mexico overview →
Santa Fe County ranks #26 of 33 New Mexico counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. New Mexico overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Santa Fe 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: 0.48%.
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 Santa Fe County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Santa Fe County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Orange County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Santa Fe County at $2,152/yr; rate 1.24% vs Santa Fe County 0.48%.
Calhoun County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,153/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.26% vs Santa Fe County 0.48%.
Dickinson County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,154/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.47% vs Santa Fe County 0.48%.
Price County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,150/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.32% vs Santa Fe County 0.48%.
New Mexico county set
State ACS overview for every published New Mexico county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.