Property Tax in Monroe County, Florida

What the Monroe County numbers mean

Read the two medians together: $3,943 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Monroe County, and $723,800 is the middle home value. Neither figure describes a specific property — together they describe the typical homeowner's situation in the county.

The derived effective rate for Monroe County is 0.55% (median tax ÷ median value). Treat it as an estimate for comparison only: it comes from survey medians of different households, not from the county's rate schedule.

The key figures for Monroe County

For context, the Florida medians are $2,555 of tax on $325,000 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.

Monroe County at a glance

• Median tax rank in Florida: #1 of 67 counties
• Median home value rank in Florida: #1 of 67
• Population rank in Florida: #38 of 67 (81,840 residents)
• Population density rank: #42 of 67 (83 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in Florida: #17 of 67 (983 sq mi, 1.8% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $329; per $1,000 of home value: $0.55

How Monroe County compares

The median tax bill in Monroe County is about 54% higher than the state median ($2,555 for Florida) and about 33% higher than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #1 out of 67 Florida counties with published Census data — 0 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. Monroe County's derived rate of 0.55% sits below the derived US figure of 0.98%.

Some extra context for Monroe County: the median bill works out to about $329 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $545 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 81,840 people — the #38 most populous county in Florida, spread over 983 square miles, a density of about 83 people per square mile. Its median home value, $723,800, ranks #1 among the state's 67 counties with data.

Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 235 record a higher median tax bill than Monroe County — it sits in the top 8% nationally. The county holds roughly 0.4% of Florida's people. Its homes are worth more than the state norm (median $723,800 versus $325,000), and a decade at the derived rate of 0.55% adds up to about 5.45% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Holmes County, medians $527 — $3,416 less than Monroe County per year.

Counties nearest Monroe County in the Florida ranking

Monroe County and its population peers

Population is a useful lens on these figures, so the table below sets Monroe 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, Monroe County's $3,943 bill is the highest.

The closest population match is Hancock County, Indiana (82,013 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $1,756 on a median home value of $258,100 — $2,187 more than Monroe County pays.

Monroe County's nearest population neighbours within Florida are Highlands County (103,808 residents, median tax $1,295 on a median value of $177,900); Nassau County (94,653 residents, median tax $2,558 on a median value of $351,100); Walton County (79,846 residents, median tax $1,709 on a median value of $376,400); Putnam County (74,235 residents, median tax $1,196 on a median value of $147,300). Comparing them is a reminder that even inside one state's rules, the bill follows local home values and local district rates more than anything decided at the state level.

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. Monroe County's medians imply a derived rate of 0.55%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $2,180 a year, or around $182 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.

Illustrative bills in Monroe County at the derived rate

The derived rate of 0.55% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Monroe County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.79% and the US figure of 0.98%:

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 Monroe County

If your bill looks wrong, work through these steps:

1. Get your property record card from the assessor and check the basics — living area, lot size, bedrooms, condition, and any exemptions you should have.
2. Compare your assessed value with recent sale prices of similar homes in Monroe County.
3. Talk to the assessor's office informally first; clear errors are often fixed without a hearing.
4. If needed, file a formal appeal with the local review board before the deadline on your assessment notice, with your evidence attached.
5. Keep paying the bill as issued while the appeal runs, unless your notice says otherwise — unpaid taxes accrue penalties regardless of an appeal.

More Florida counties

• Walton County, FL — $1,709
• Putnam County, FL — $1,196
• Columbia County, FL — $1,385
• Nassau County, FL — $2,558
• Highlands County, FL — $1,295
• Jackson County, FL — $625

Frequently asked questions