South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Sumter County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Sumter County pays $881 a year, an effective rate of 0.53%, far below the U.S. average.
- $881
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.53%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -56%
- vs U.S. average
- #21 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Sumter County pay a median $881 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.53%, more affordable than 80% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $881
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.53%
- Effective rate on median home
- #619 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -56%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($165,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 104,725. Owner-occupied homes: 27,990.
The median annual property tax in Sumter County is $881, which is 30% lower than the South Carolina state average and 56% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.53% on a median home value of $165,300. Property taxes represent 1.6% of the median household income in this county.
Sumter County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Sumter County's 0.53% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 80%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Sumter County pay a median annual property tax of $881, far below the national median and well below the South Carolina state median. On a $165,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.53% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Sumter County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $56,693 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of South Carolina counties by effective rate
Sumter County ranks #21 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (54% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Sumter 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
Sumter County's effective rate fell 12.9% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 38.0%, leaving the median bill 20.2% higher at $881. That rate move is larger than the one in 53% 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $733 to $881, a gain of 20%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 11,658 of 27,990 owner-occupied homes (41.7%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 1.6% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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 Sumter County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Sumter County homeowners, 11,658 of 27,990 owner-occupied homes (41.7%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 41.7% (11,658)
- $800 to $1,499 28.5% (7,979)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.3% (2,617)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.7% (1,583)
- $3,000 or more 5.1% (1,423)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,730 homes here (9.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Sumter County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+99%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Sumter County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Sumter County's effective rate is higher than 54% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #21 of 46.
Where Sumter County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.53% Among the most affordable more affordable than 80% 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
Sumter County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Sumter County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.6% | - | - |
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.
Sumter County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Sumter County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $881 +2.4% | 0.53% |
| 2023 | $860 +4.6% | 0.54% |
| 2022 | $822 +5.9% | 0.56% |
| 2021 | $776 +5.9% | 0.60% |
| 2020 | $733 | 0.61% |
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.
Sumter County: tax takes only 1.6% of income
Counties near Sumter County's effective rate
On effective rate, Sumter County sits nearest Hood River County (OR), Latimer County (OK), Coal County (OK).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Fairfax city (VA), Hale County (TX), Jefferson County (OH).
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
Sumter County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,720 of 48,110 returns from Sumter County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,945 - 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 South Carolina
Sumter County rate FAQs
- How does Sumter County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Sumter County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.53% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Sumter County?
- Sumter County, South Carolina scores B (70/100) 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 income room at A- (1.6%). 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 Sumter County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Sumter County is $881, an effective rate of 0.53% on a $165,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Sumter County?
- Property taxes in Sumter County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $56,693 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Sumter County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Sumter County jumped 20.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $733 to $881, 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 to do with Sumter County's QUIET rate
Sumter County's $881 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is light here: about 1.6% of Sumter County's $56,693 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Sumter 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: 0.53%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $881/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Sumter County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Sumter County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Edmonson County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Sumter County at $881/yr; rate 0.55% vs Sumter County 0.53%.
Jackson County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Sumter County at $881/yr; rate 0.49% vs Sumter County 0.53%.
Crawford County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $880/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.75% vs Sumter County 0.53%.
Grant County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $880/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.54% vs Sumter County 0.53%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Sumter County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - 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 Sumter County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.