Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Wharton County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Wharton County pays $2,881 a year, an effective rate of 1.52%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,881
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.52%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +45%
- vs U.S. average
- #43 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Wharton County pay a median $2,881 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.52%, more affordable than 10% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,881
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.52%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2821 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +45%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($189,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 41,794. Owner-occupied homes: 11,482.
The median annual property tax in Wharton County is $2,881, which is 32% lower than the Texas state average and 45% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.52% on a median home value of $189,900. Property taxes represent 4.3% of the median household income in this county.
Wharton County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national headwind
Wharton County's 1.52% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 90% pay more.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Wharton County pay a median annual property tax of $2,881, well above the national median and well below the Texas state median. On a $189,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.52% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Texas counties by effective rate
Wharton County ranks #43 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (83% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Wharton County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.3% of the $66,924 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Wharton 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 held while the market moved
Wharton County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 5.2% up, against a median home value that rose 27.7%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 34.4%, from $2,144 to $2,881.
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 34% from $2,144 to $2,881. 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: 5,200 of 11,482 owner-occupied homes (45.3%) 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 rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 4.3% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to here.
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 Wharton County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Wharton County homeowners, 5,200 of 11,482 owner-occupied homes (45.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 11.3% (1,293)
- $800 to $1,499 13.0% (1,487)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.4% (1,074)
- $2,000 to $2,999 15.4% (1,768)
- $3,000 or more 45.3% (5,200)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
660 homes here (5.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Wharton County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+77%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Wharton County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Wharton County's effective rate is higher than 83% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #43 of 250.
Where Wharton County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.52% more affordable than 10% 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 highest-taxed counties in the country
At 1.52%, Wharton County sits in the top 10% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. That is the rate, not the bill: a high rate on a modest home can still produce a smaller cheque than a low rate on an expensive one, which is why the $2,881 median bill is the number to compare against another county.
Wharton County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Wharton County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.3% | - | - |
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.
Wharton County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Wharton County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $189,900 median home carries a $2,881 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $288 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Texas.
Wharton County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,881 +4.8% | 1.52% |
| 2023 | $2,749 +6.6% | 1.50% |
| 2022 | $2,579 +10.0% | 1.52% |
| 2021 | $2,344 +9.3% | 1.50% |
| 2020 | $2,144 | 1.44% |
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.
Wharton County: tax takes 4.3% of income
Counties near Wharton County's effective rate
On effective rate, Wharton County sits nearest Northampton County (PA), Allegheny County (PA), Pawnee County (NE).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are San Mateo County (CA), Albemarle County (VA), Logan 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
Wharton County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 650 of 19,850 returns from Wharton County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,898 - 31% 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 Texas
Wharton County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Wharton County?
- Wharton County, Texas scores F (15/100) 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 housing pressure at C- (2.84×). 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.
- How does Wharton County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Wharton County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.52% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Wharton County, Texas?
- The median annual property tax in Wharton County is $2,881, an effective rate of 1.52% on a $189,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Wharton County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Wharton County jumped 34.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,144 to $2,881, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Wharton County?
- Property taxes in Wharton County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.3% of the $66,924 median household income.
What to do with Wharton County's STEEP rate
Wharton County's $2,881 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Wharton County ranks #43 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Wharton County's STEEP 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: 1.52%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,881/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Wharton County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Wharton County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Custer County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,879/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.77% vs Wharton County 1.52%.
Allegan County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,884/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.08% vs Wharton County 1.52%.
Mercer County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,878/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.96% vs Wharton County 1.52%.
Platte County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,885/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.29% vs Wharton County 1.52%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Wharton County stamps STEEP · MID - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 Wharton County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.