Delaware · County property tax · ACS 2024
Sussex County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Sussex County pays $1,222 a year, an effective rate of 0.32%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,222
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.32%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -39%
- vs U.S. average
- #3 of 3
- rank in DE
The verdict
Homeowners in Sussex County pay a median $1,222 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.32%, more affordable than 97% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,222
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.32%
- Effective rate on median home
- #99 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -39%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($382,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Delaware. Population: 255,626. Owner-occupied homes: 86,851.
The median annual property tax in Sussex County is $1,222, which is 31% lower than the Delaware state average and 39% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.32% on a median home value of $382,600. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Sussex County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Sussex County's 0.32% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 97% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
High among Delaware counties by effective rate
Sussex County ranks #3 of 3 counties in Delaware by effective rate (0% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Sussex County pay a median annual property tax of $1,222, well below the national median and well below the Delaware state median. On a $382,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.32% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Sussex County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $81,497 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Sussex 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 9.6% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 61% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 41.9%, the median bill rose 28.2% to $1,222: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 28% from $953 to $1,222. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 30,294 of 86,851 owner-occupied homes (34.9%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 1.5% 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 Sussex County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Sussex County homeowners, 30,294 of 86,851 owner-occupied homes (34.9%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 26.5% (23,031)
- $800 to $1,499 34.9% (30,294)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.3% (14,157)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.2% (10,595)
- $3,000 or more 6.1% (5,289)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
3,485 homes here (4.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Delaware handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Sussex County, mortgaged homeowners pay 19% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Sussex County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Sussex County's effective rate is higher than 0% of the 3 counties in Delaware - ranking #3 of 3.
Where Sussex County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.32% Among the most affordable more affordable than 97% 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
Among the lowest-taxed counties in the country
At 0.32%, Sussex County sits in the lowest 3% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. A low rate does not by itself mean a low bill: the median here is $1,222, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Sussex County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Sussex County | Delaware Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.5% | - | - |
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.
Sussex County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Delaware counties.
Sussex County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,222 +4.4% | 0.32% |
| 2023 | $1,171 +4.4% | 0.33% |
| 2022 | $1,122 +9.3% | 0.35% |
| 2021 | $1,027 +7.8% | 0.36% |
| 2020 | $953 | 0.35% |
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.
Sussex County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Sussex County's effective rate
On effective rate, Sussex County sits nearest Summit County (CO), San Juan County (CO), Saguache County (CO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Coffey County (KS), Falls County (TX), Ritchie County (WV).
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
Sussex County: only 8% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 10,790 of 134,040 returns from Sussex County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,326 - 36% 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 Delaware
View all counties in Delaware →Sussex County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Sussex County?
- Sussex County, Delaware scores B+ (75/100) 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+ (0.32%). 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 Sussex County, Delaware?
- The median annual property tax in Sussex County is $1,222, an effective rate of 0.32% on a $382,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Sussex County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Sussex County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.32% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Sussex County?
- Property taxes in Sussex County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $81,497 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Sussex County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Sussex County jumped 28.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $953 to $1,222, 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 Sussex County's QUIET rate
Sussex County's $1,222 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 1.5% of Sussex County's $81,497 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Sussex 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: 0.32%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,222/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Sussex County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Sussex County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Mayes County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Sussex County at $1,222/yr; rate 0.65% vs Sussex County 0.32%.
Cook County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,221/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.78% vs Sussex County 0.32%.
Dimmit County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,223/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.43% vs Sussex County 0.32%.
Franklin County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,221/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.28% vs Sussex County 0.32%.
Delaware county set
State ACS overview for every published Delaware county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Sussex 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 Sussex County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.