Property Tax in Sussex County, Delaware
The median real estate tax bill in Sussex County, Delaware is $1,171 per year, and the median home is worth $353,300. 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 Sussex County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Sussex County pay more than $1,171, and half pay less. Your own bill is set by your home's assessed value, the exemptions you qualify for, and the local taxing districts your property sits in — so individual bills vary widely around the median.
Dividing the median tax by the median home value gives a derived effective rate of 0.33% for Sussex County. It is an estimate built from two survey medians, not the county's official rate, but it is a fair way to compare the local tax burden with other counties where home values are very different.
Sussex County by the numbers
| Measure | Sussex County | Delaware | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $1,171 | $1,731 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $353,300 | $326,800 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.33% | 0.53% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $98 | $144 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Sussex County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Delaware: #3 of 3 counties
- Median home value rank in Delaware: #1 of 3
- Population rank in Delaware: #2 of 3 (247,799 residents)
- Population density rank: #3 of 3 (265 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Delaware: #1 of 3 (936 sq mi, 48.0% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $98; per $1,000 of home value: $0.33
How Sussex County compares
The median tax bill in Sussex County is about 32% lower than the state median ($1,731 for Delaware) and about 61% lower than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #3 out of 3 Delaware counties with published Census data — 2 counties in the state have a higher median bill.
Comparisons cut both ways: a county can have a modest rate but high bills because homes are expensive, or a high rate but modest bills because homes are cheaper. Sussex County's derived rate of 0.33% sits below the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Sussex County: the median bill works out to about $98 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $331 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 247,799 people — the #2 most populous county in Delaware, spread over 936 square miles, a density of about 265 people per square mile. Its median home value, $353,300, ranks #1 among the state's 3 counties with data.
Nationally, Sussex County's median bill of $1,171 ranks #2148 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 69% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 24.6% of Delaware's population, its median home value is about 8% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 3.31% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Sussex County to the most expensive county, New Castle County ($2,444), is $1,273 a year.
Counties nearest Sussex County in the Delaware ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle County, DE | $2,444 | $329,800 | 0.74% |
| Kent County, DE | $1,331 | $290,600 | 0.46% |
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. Sussex County's medians imply a derived rate of 0.33%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $1,324 a year, or around $110 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Checking your assessment in Sussex 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 Sussex 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.
Similar-sized counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Sussex County, Delaware?
The median real estate tax paid in Sussex County, Delaware is $1,171 per year, on a median home value of $353,300 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Sussex County, Delaware?
The derived effective rate is 0.33% — the median bill ($1,171) expressed as a share of the median home value ($353,300). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Sussex County compare with the rest of Delaware?
By median taxes paid, Sussex County stands at #3 among the 3 Delaware counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $1,171 median bill is about 32% lower than the state median ($1,731), and 2 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Sussex County, Delaware?
The assessor estimates your property's market value; exemptions (such as a homestead exemption) reduce the taxable amount; and the result is multiplied by the combined rates of the local taxing districts — county, municipality, school district and any special districts. In Sussex County, the median outcome of that process is a bill of $1,171 on a median home value of $353,300.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Sussex County, Delaware?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Sussex 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.