Property Tax in Allegany County, Maryland

What the Allegany County numbers mean

Read the two medians together: $1,609 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Allegany County, and $149,200 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 Allegany County is 1.08% (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 Allegany County

For context, the Maryland medians are $3,989 of tax on $397,700 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.

Allegany County at a glance

• Median tax rank in Maryland: #23 of 24 counties
• Median home value rank in Maryland: #24 of 24
• Population rank in Maryland: #16 of 24 (67,762 residents)
• Population density rank: #16 of 24 (160 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in Maryland: #12 of 24 (422 sq mi, 4.3% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $134; per $1,000 of home value: $1.08

How Allegany County compares

The median tax bill in Allegany County is about 60% lower than the state median ($3,989 for Maryland) and about 46% lower than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #23 out of 24 Maryland counties with published Census data — 22 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. Allegany County's derived rate of 1.08% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.

Some extra context for Allegany County: the median bill works out to about $134 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,078 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 67,762 people — the #16 most populous county in Maryland, spread over 422 square miles, a density of about 160 people per square mile. Its median home value, $149,200, ranks #24 among the state's 24 counties with data.

Nationally, Allegany County's median bill of $1,609 ranks #1486 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 47% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 1.1% of Maryland's population, its median home value is about 62% below the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 10.78% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Allegany County to the most expensive county, Howard County ($6,814), is $5,205 a year.

Counties nearest Allegany County in the Maryland ranking

Allegany County and its population peers

Counties of a similar size can tax very differently. The table below shows the counties closest to Allegany County in population across the United States, with their median bills and home values. Within the group of 9, Allegany County ($1,609) ranks #7 of 9 by median tax paid.

The closest population match is Laurens County, South Carolina (67,904 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $673 on a median home value of $153,500 — $936 more than Allegany County pays.

Inside Maryland itself, the counties closest to Allegany County in population are Wicomico County (104,117 residents, median tax $2,120 on a median value of $238,900); Calvert County (93,791 residents, median tax $3,858 on a median value of $440,200); Worcester County (53,279 residents, median tax $2,629 on a median value of $348,100); Queen Anne's County (50,951 residents, median tax $3,503 on a median value of $441,800). 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

The bill is built in stages. First the assessor puts a market value on the property. Exemptions — a homestead exemption above all — then reduce the taxable amount. Finally the combined local rate is applied. To see the scale: at the county's derived rate of 1.08%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $1,078 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $4,312. Real bills use the official assessment and district rates, not this derived figure, so treat the example as a sense of scale only.

Illustrative bills in Allegany County at the derived rate

The derived rate of 1.08% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Allegany County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 1.00% 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 Allegany 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 Allegany 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 Maryland counties

• Worcester County, MD — $2,629
• Queen Anne's County, MD — $3,503
• Calvert County, MD — $3,858
• Talbot County, MD — $2,623
• Caroline County, MD — $2,513
• Dorchester County, MD — $2,399

Frequently asked questions