Oregon · County property tax · ACS 2024
Washington County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Washington County pays $4,929 a year, an effective rate of 0.84%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,929
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.84%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +147%
- vs U.S. average
- #8 of 36
- rank in OR
The verdict
Homeowners in Washington County pay a median $4,929 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.84%, more affordable than 47% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,929
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.84%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1663 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +147%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($588,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Oregon. Population: 603,947. Owner-occupied homes: 143,230.
The median annual property tax in Washington County is $4,929, which is 27% higher than the Oregon state average and 147% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.84% on a median home value of $588,000. Property taxes represent 4.6% of the median household income in this county.
Why Washington County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Washington County pay a median annual property tax of $4,929, far above the national median and well above the Oregon state median. On a $588,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.84% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Oregon counties by effective rate
Washington County ranks #8 of 36 counties in Oregon by effective rate (78% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Washington County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.6% of the $107,772 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Washington County's 0.84% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 47%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Washington 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
Washington County's effective rate fell 15.7% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 42.2%, leaving the median bill 19.8% higher at $4,929. That rate move is larger than the one in 67% 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 $4,113 to $4,929, 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 120,948 of 143,230 owner-occupied homes (84.4%) 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.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 4.6% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 Washington County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Washington County homeowners, 120,948 of 143,230 owner-occupied homes (84.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 1.4% (1,989)
- $800 to $1,499 1.8% (2,558)
- $1,500 to $1,999 2.1% (3,013)
- $2,000 to $2,999 7.3% (10,421)
- $3,000 or more 84.4% (120,948)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
4,301 homes here (3.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Oregon handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Washington County pay about the same bill, a 0% gap.
Washington County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Washington County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Washington County's median bill is 27% above the Oregon median and 147% above the U.S. median.
Same rate as Oregon, a larger bill
The effective rate here sits within 4% of the Oregon median, yet the median bill runs 27% above it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to costlier housing produces $4,929 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Washington County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Washington County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.6% | - | - |
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.
Is Washington County's $4,929 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Washington County's $4,929 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $493/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Oregon.
Washington County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,929 +1.6% | 0.84% |
| 2023 | $4,852 +3.6% | 0.87% |
| 2022 | $4,685 +8.3% | 0.93% |
| 2021 | $4,324 +5.1% | 0.98% |
| 2020 | $4,113 | 0.99% |
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.
Washington County: tax takes 4.6% of income
Counties near Washington County's median bill
On effective rate, Washington County sits nearest Beckham County (OK), Morgan County (OH), Lawrence County (OH).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Alexandria city (VA), St. Louis County (MO), Colorado County (TX).
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
Washington County: only 13% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 39,230 of 295,660 returns from Washington County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,390 - 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 Oregon
Washington County bill FAQs
- How does Washington County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Washington County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.84% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Washington County, Oregon?
- The median annual property tax in Washington County is $4,929, an effective rate of 0.84% on a $588,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Washington County?
- Property taxes in Washington County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.6% of the $107,772 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Washington County?
- Washington County, Oregon scores F (30/100) 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 (+$8). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Washington County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Washington County climbed 19.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $4,113 to $4,929, 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 Washington County's HEAVY bill
Washington County's $4,929 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Washington County ranks #8 of 36 Oregon counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Oregon overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Washington 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: 0.84%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,929/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Washington County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Washington County (UNDER · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER HEAVY
Belknap County, NH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,924/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 1.31% vs Washington County 0.84%.
Manassas city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,923/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 1.09% vs Washington County 0.84%.
Monterey County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,910/yr (near-tied bill ABS $19); rate 0.63% vs Washington County 0.84%.
Kent County, RI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,957/yr (near-tied bill ABS $28); rate 1.35% vs Washington County 0.84%.
Oregon county set
State ACS overview for every published Oregon county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Washington County stamps UNDER · 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 Washington County (UNDER · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.