South Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Union County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Union County pays $579 a year, an effective rate of 0.56%, far below the U.S. average.
- $579
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.56%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -71%
- vs U.S. average
- #16 of 46
- rank in SC
The verdict
Homeowners in Union County pay a median $579 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.56%, more affordable than 76% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $579
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.56%
- Effective rate on median home
- #740 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -71%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($103,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Carolina. Population: 26,885. Owner-occupied homes: 8,276.
The median annual property tax in Union County is $579, which is 54% lower than the South Carolina state average and 71% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.56% on a median home value of $103,600. Property taxes represent 1.4% of the median household income in this county.
Union County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Union County's 0.56% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 76%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Union County pay a median annual property tax of $579, far below the national median and far below the South Carolina state median. On a $103,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.56% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Union County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.4% of the $41,621 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of South Carolina counties by effective rate
Union County ranks #16 of 46 counties in South Carolina by effective rate (65% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Union 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 gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Union County rose 29.0%, from $80,300 to $103,600. The effective rate fell 19.7% over the same span, a steeper move than in 81% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 3.6%, to $579. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $559 to $579, a change of 4%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 4,421 of 8,276 owner-occupied homes (53.4%) 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 1.4% 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.
Paying off the mortgage changes the picture here
22.1% of Union County homes owned free and clear (1,225 of 5,539) report no property tax at all, against 12.5% of homes still carrying a mortgage. A reported zero is not proof of an exemption: it can equally mean a bill paid by another party, or a reporting artefact. But a gap this size is where age- and disability-based relief usually shows up, because those programmes reach owners who have finished paying.
What Union County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Union County homeowners, 4,421 of 8,276 owner-occupied homes (53.4%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 53.4% (4,421)
- $800 to $1,499 19.5% (1,612)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.0% (329)
- $2,000 to $2,999 3.1% (255)
- $3,000 or more 1.1% (91)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,568 homes here (18.9%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how South Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Union County pay a substantially higher bill, 53% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Union County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Union County's effective rate is higher than 65% of the 46 counties in South Carolina - ranking #16 of 46.
Where Union County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.56% Among the most affordable more affordable than 76% 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 high rate, a smaller bill
Union County taxes property at 0.56%, about 17% above the South Carolina average, yet its median bill of $579 lands roughly 54% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Union County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Union County | South Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.4% | - | - |
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.
Union County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Carolina counties.
Union County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $579 +3.8% | 0.56% |
| 2023 | $558 -6.5% | 0.56% |
| 2022 | $597 +7.4% | 0.63% |
| 2021 | $556 -0.5% | 0.68% |
| 2020 | $559 | 0.70% |
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.
Union County: tax takes only 1.4% of income
Counties near Union County's effective rate
On effective rate, Union County sits nearest Lincoln County (OK), Johnston County (OK), Pamlico County (NC).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Pendleton County (WV), Caddo Parish (LA), King and Queen County (VA).
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
Union County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 210 of 11,180 returns from Union County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,790 - 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
Union County rate FAQs
- How does Union County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Union County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.56% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Union County?
- Union County, South Carolina scores A- (80/100) 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 bill size at A+ ($579/yr). 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 Union County, South Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Union County is $579, an effective rate of 0.56% on a $103,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Union County?
- Property taxes in Union County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.4% of the $41,621 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Union County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Union County ticked up 3.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $559 to $579, 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 Union County's QUIET rate
Union County's $579 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 1.4% of Union County's $41,621 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Union 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: 0.56%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $579/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Union County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Union County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Lunenburg County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $578/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.39% vs Union County 0.56%.
Wayne County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $578/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.63% vs Union County 0.56%.
Carroll County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $577/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.53% vs Union County 0.56%.
Van Buren County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $581/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.43% vs Union County 0.56%.
South Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published South Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Union 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 Union County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.