Maryland · County property tax · ACS 2024
Worcester County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Worcester County pays $2,738 a year, an effective rate of 0.73%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,738
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.73%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +37%
- vs U.S. average
- #23 of 24
- rank in MD
The verdict
Homeowners in Worcester County pay a median $2,738 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.73%, more affordable than 56% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,738
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.73%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1364 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +37%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($374,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Maryland. Population: 53,700. Owner-occupied homes: 18,817.
The median annual property tax in Worcester County is $2,738, which is 33% lower than the Maryland state average and 37% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.73% on a median home value of $374,700. Property taxes represent 3.3% of the median household income in this county.
Worcester County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Worcester County's 0.73% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 56%).
Decision signal 2
High among Maryland counties by effective rate
Worcester County ranks #23 of 24 counties in Maryland by effective rate (4% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Worcester County pay a median annual property tax of $2,738, well above the national median and well below the Maryland state median. On a $374,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.73% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Worcester County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $81,745 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Worcester 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 10.0% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 60% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 40.1%, the median bill rose 26.1% to $2,738: 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 26% from $2,171 to $2,738. 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: 7,725 of 18,817 owner-occupied homes (41.1%) 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.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 3.3% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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 Worcester County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Worcester County homeowners, 7,725 of 18,817 owner-occupied homes (41.1%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.2% (785)
- $800 to $1,499 11.3% (2,117)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.7% (2,384)
- $2,000 to $2,999 27.3% (5,131)
- $3,000 or more 41.1% (7,725)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
675 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Maryland handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Worcester County, mortgaged homeowners pay 11% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Worcester County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Worcester County's effective rate is higher than 4% of the 24 counties in Maryland - ranking #23 of 24.
Where Worcester County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.73% more affordable than 56% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Worcester County moved from $2,171 in the 2020 release to $2,738 in 2024, a change of about 26%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Worcester County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Worcester County | Maryland Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.3% | - | - |
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.
Worcester County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Maryland counties.
Worcester County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,738 +4.1% | 0.73% |
| 2023 | $2,629 +5.8% | 0.76% |
| 2022 | $2,484 +6.3% | 0.80% |
| 2021 | $2,336 +7.6% | 0.84% |
| 2020 | $2,171 | 0.81% |
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.
Worcester County: tax-to-income at 3.3%
Counties near Worcester County's effective rate
On effective rate, Worcester County sits nearest Montgomery County (KY), Madison County (KY), Jessamine County (KY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Houston County (GA), Isanti County (MN), Montour County (PA).
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
Worcester County: only 11% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 3,460 of 30,630 returns from Worcester County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,989 - 34% 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 Maryland
Worcester County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Worcester County?
- Worcester County, Maryland scores F (37/100) 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 C (0.73%). 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 Worcester County, Maryland?
- The median annual property tax in Worcester County is $2,738, an effective rate of 0.73% on a $374,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Worcester County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Worcester County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.73% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Worcester County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Worcester County jumped 26.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,171 to $2,738, 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 Worcester County?
- Property taxes in Worcester County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $81,745 median household income.
What to do with Worcester County's UNDER rate
Worcester County's $2,738 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Worcester County ranks #23 of 24 Maryland counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Maryland overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Worcester County's UNDER 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: 0.73%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,738/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Worcester County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Worcester County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Dillingham Census Area, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Worcester County at $2,738/yr; rate 1.72% vs Worcester County 0.73%.
Franklin County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,740/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.10% vs Worcester County 0.73%.
Kearney County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,740/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.23% vs Worcester County 0.73%.
Routt County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,736/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.32% vs Worcester County 0.73%.
Maryland county set
State ACS overview for every published Maryland county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Worcester County stamps UNDER · MID - 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 Worcester County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.