Property Tax in Kauai County, Hawaii
In Kauai County, Hawaii, the typical homeowner pays $1,840 a year in property taxes on a home worth a median of $817,900. The figures on this page are the Census Bureau's published medians (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023), shown exactly as released.
What the Kauai County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Kauai County pay more than $1,840, 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 0.23% for Kauai 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.
The key figures for Kauai County
| Measure | Kauai County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $1,840 |
| Median home value | $817,900 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.23% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $153 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $225 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $900 |
For context, the Hawaii medians are $2,183 of tax on $808,200 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Kauai County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Hawaii: #2 of 4 counties
- Median home value rank in Hawaii: #3 of 4
- Population rank in Hawaii: #4 of 4 (73,610 residents)
- Population density rank: #3 of 4 (119 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Hawaii: #3 of 4 (619 sq mi, 9.7% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $153; per $1,000 of home value: $0.23
How Kauai County compares
Set against its state, Kauai County's median bill of $1,840 is about 16% lower than the Hawaii median ($2,183). Against the country as a whole it is about 38% lower than the US median ($2,969). That places the county #2 of 4 Hawaii counties ranked by median taxes paid.
Remember what drives the ranking: bills follow home values as much as rates. Kauai County's median home, at $817,900, ranks #3 by value in Hawaii, while its derived rate of 0.23% compares with a derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Kauai County: the median bill works out to about $153 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $225 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 73,610 people — the #4 most populous county in Hawaii, spread over 619 square miles, a density of about 119 people per square mile. Its median home value, $817,900, ranks #3 among the state's 4 counties with data.
Nationally, Kauai County's median bill of $1,840 ranks #1231 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 39% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 5.1% of Hawaii's population, its median home value is about 1% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 2.25% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Kauai County to the most expensive county, Honolulu County ($2,482), is $642 a year.
Counties nearest Kauai County in the Hawaii ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu County, HI | $2,482 | $873,000 | 0.28% |
| Maui County, HI | $1,442 | $858,600 | 0.17% |
| Hawaii County, HI | $1,392 | $486,400 | 0.29% |
Kauai County and its population peers
For a like-for-like sense of scale, compare Kauai County with its national population peers: the counties nearest to its 73,610 residents, listed in the table below with their own Census medians. Of the 9 counties in that group, Kauai County's median bill of $1,840 is #3 of 9.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam County, FL | 74,235 | $1,196 | $147,300 | 0.81% |
| Wood County, WI | 74,039 | $2,629 | $168,100 | 1.56% |
| Fauquier County, VA | 73,935 | $4,185 | $543,700 | 0.77% |
| Raleigh County, WV | 73,666 | $733 | $142,600 | 0.51% |
| Somerset County, PA | 73,255 | $1,449 | $130,600 | 1.11% |
| Vermilion County, IL | 73,179 | $1,666 | $92,900 | 1.79% |
| Lea County, NM | 73,154 | $824 | $176,000 | 0.47% |
| Scioto County, OH | 73,118 | $1,417 | $132,300 | 1.07% |
The closest population match is Raleigh County, West Virginia (73,666 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $733 on a median home value of $142,600 — $1,107 more than Kauai County pays.
Staying within Hawaii, the counties nearest Kauai County by population are Hawaii County (203,684 residents, median tax $1,392 on a median value of $486,400); Maui County (164,632 residents, median tax $1,442 on a median value of $858,600). The spread in their median bills — all under the same state framework — shows how much of the property tax burden is decided county by county and district by district.
How the tax is worked out
As an illustration of the arithmetic: at Kauai County's derived rate of 0.23%, a home valued at $400,000 would carry a tax bill of roughly $900 a year. That is only an illustration using the derived rate — a real bill is computed from the property's assessed value, its exemptions, and the combined rates of its specific taxing districts, so it can be higher or lower.
The usual sequence is: the local assessor values the property; exemptions are applied; the taxable value is multiplied by the combined local rates; and the county bills and collects the tax, distributing it to the schools, municipalities and districts that levied it.
Illustrative bills in Kauai County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 0.23% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Kauai County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.27% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $338 | $28 |
| $250,000 | $562 | $47 |
| $350,000 | $788 | $66 |
| $500,000 | $1,125 | $94 |
| $750,000 | $1,688 | $141 |
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 Kauai County
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Kauai County assessor: wrong square footage, an extra room, or a missing homestead exemption are common and fixable. Next, line your assessed value up against recent sales of genuinely similar homes nearby. Many disputes end at an informal conversation with the assessor's office; if yours does not, file the formal appeal with the review board named on your notice before its deadline, evidence attached, and keep paying the bill in the meantime so penalties do not build up.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Kauai County, Hawaii?
The median real estate tax paid in Kauai County, Hawaii is $1,840 per year, on a median home value of $817,900 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Kauai County, Hawaii?
The derived effective rate is 0.23% — the median bill ($1,840) expressed as a share of the median home value ($817,900). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Kauai County compare with the rest of Hawaii?
Kauai County ranks #2 of 4 Hawaii counties with published data by median taxes paid. Its median bill of $1,840 is about 16% lower than the Hawaii median of $2,183.
How are property taxes calculated in Kauai County, Hawaii?
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 Kauai County is $1,840 of tax on a $817,900 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Kauai County, Hawaii?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Kauai County assessor's office and check it for errors, then compare your assessed value with recent sales of similar homes. If it still looks too high, file a formal appeal with the local review board named on your assessment notice before the deadline printed on the notice — windows are short, often 30 to 90 days.