Property Tax in Sutter County, California
The median real estate tax bill in Sutter County, California is $3,111 per year, and the median home is worth $399,400. Both figures are the US Census Bureau's survey medians for owner-occupied households (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What the Sutter County numbers mean
The median is the midpoint of the county's actual bills: half of Sutter County homeowners pay more than $3,111 a year and half pay less. The exact bill for any one home depends on its assessed value, exemptions, and which school, municipal and special districts cover it.
Set against the median home value of $399,400, the median bill works out to a derived effective rate of 0.78%. That rate is an estimate computed from the two medians — no county publishes a rate calculated this way — but it adjusts for home prices, which makes comparisons between counties more meaningful.
The key figures for Sutter County
| Measure | Sutter County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $3,111 |
| Median home value | $399,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.78% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $259 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $779 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $3,116 |
For context, the California medians are $4,926 of tax on $695,400 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Sutter County at a glance
- Median tax rank in California: #31 of 58 counties
- Median home value rank in California: #36 of 58
- Population rank in California: #37 of 58 (98,971 residents)
- Population density rank: #22 of 58 (164 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in California: #53 of 58 (602 sq mi, 0.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $259; per $1,000 of home value: $0.78
How Sutter County compares
Of the 58 California counties with published data, 30 have a higher median property tax bill than Sutter County's $3,111, putting the county at #31 in the state. Its bill is about 37% lower than the state median of $4,926 and about 5% higher than the national median of $2,969.
Rates and values pull in opposite directions: an expensive housing market can produce big bills at ordinary rates. Here the derived rate is 0.78%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #36 within California.
Some extra context for Sutter County: the median bill works out to about $259 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $779 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 98,971 people — the #37 most populous county in California, spread over 602 square miles, a density of about 164 people per square mile. Its median home value, $399,400, ranks #36 among the state's 58 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 412 record a higher median tax bill than Sutter County — it sits in the top 13% nationally. The county holds roughly 0.3% of California's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $399,400 versus $695,400), and a decade at the derived rate of 0.78% adds up to about 7.79% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Modoc County, medians $1,445 — $1,666 less than Sutter County per year.
Counties nearest Sutter County in the California ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine County, CA | $3,190 | $466,100 | 0.68% |
| Calaveras County, CA | $3,154 | $441,800 | 0.71% |
| Stanislaus County, CA | $3,025 | $426,600 | 0.71% |
| Amador County, CA | $2,939 | $422,800 | 0.69% |
Sutter County and its population peers
Population is a useful lens on these figures, so the table below sets Sutter County beside the counties closest to it in population anywhere in the country — communities of a similar scale operating under different state and local tax systems. Ranked by median tax paid within this peer group of 9, Sutter County's $3,111 bill is #2 of 9.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherburne County, MN | 99,178 | $3,311 | $332,700 | 0.99% |
| Montgomery County, VA | 99,159 | $2,174 | $283,600 | 0.77% |
| Burleigh County, ND | 98,986 | $2,764 | $314,700 | 0.88% |
| Floyd County, GA | 98,985 | $1,560 | $194,100 | 0.80% |
| Dubuque County, IA | 98,948 | $2,848 | $226,100 | 1.26% |
| Madison County, TN | 98,845 | $1,161 | $189,700 | 0.61% |
| Lenawee County, MI | 98,823 | $2,412 | $181,100 | 1.33% |
| Sevier County, TN | 98,802 | $815 | $259,500 | 0.31% |
The closest population match is Floyd County, Georgia (98,985 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $1,560 on a median home value of $194,100 — $1,551 more than Sutter County pays.
Inside California itself, the counties closest to Sutter County in population are Humboldt County (135,418 residents, median tax $2,731 on a median value of $418,800); Nevada County (102,452 residents, median tax $4,468 on a median value of $602,800); Mendocino County (90,709 residents, median tax $3,376 on a median value of $486,000); Yuba County (83,079 residents, median tax $2,865 on a median value of $380,000). Same state, same broad tax framework — yet the median bills still differ, because assessed values and the mix of county, municipal and school-district rates are set locally.
How the tax is worked out
Think of the final bill as three ingredients: the assessed value of the property, the exemptions subtracted from it, and the combined rate of every district the property sits in. Sutter County's medians imply a derived rate of 0.78%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $3,116 a year, or around $260 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Illustrative bills in Sutter County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 0.78% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Sutter County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.71% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $1,168 | $97 |
| $250,000 | $1,948 | $162 |
| $350,000 | $2,726 | $227 |
| $500,000 | $3,895 | $325 |
| $750,000 | $5,842 | $487 |
Illustration only: real bills are computed from the assessed value, exemptions, and the combined rates of the property's actual taxing districts.
Checking your assessment in Sutter County
Believe your assessment is too high? The practical order of attack is: obtain your record card and audit it line by line; collect comparable recent sales in Sutter County; ask the assessor's office to correct anything plainly wrong; and, if the value still seems off, lodge a formal appeal ahead of the deadline printed on your assessment notice. Windows are short — often 30 to 90 days — and late appeals are usually rejected outright, however strong the case.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Sutter County, California?
The median real estate tax paid in Sutter County, California is $3,111 per year, on a median home value of $399,400 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Sutter County, California?
The derived effective rate is 0.78% — the median bill ($3,111) expressed as a share of the median home value ($399,400). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Sutter County compare with the rest of California?
By median taxes paid, Sutter County stands at #31 among the 58 California counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $3,111 median bill is about 37% lower than the state median ($4,926), and 30 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Sutter County, California?
Three steps produce the bill: an assessment of market value by the local assessor, a reduction for exemptions you qualify for (a homestead exemption is the common one), and multiplication by the combined rates of the county, municipality, school district and any special districts covering the property. The median result in Sutter County is $3,111 of tax on a $399,400 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Sutter County, California?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Sutter County assessor, verify its details, and compare the assessed value against similar homes that sold recently. If the value still seems too high, submit a formal appeal to the board named on your notice before the stated deadline — usually a 30-to-90-day window.