Property Tax in Washington County, Maryland

What the Washington County numbers mean

A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Washington County pay more than $2,444, 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 0.89% for Washington 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 Washington 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.

Washington County at a glance

• Median tax rank in Maryland: #19 of 24 counties
• Median home value rank in Maryland: #17 of 24
• Population rank in Maryland: #11 of 24 (155,033 residents)
• Population density rank: #12 of 24 (339 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in Maryland: #9 of 24 (457 sq mi, 4.7% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $204; per $1,000 of home value: $0.89

How Washington County compares

Set against its state, Washington County's median bill of $2,444 is about 39% lower than the Maryland median ($3,989). Against the country as a whole it is about 18% lower than the US median ($2,969). That places the county #19 of 24 Maryland counties ranked by median taxes paid.

Remember what drives the ranking: bills follow home values as much as rates. Washington County's median home, at $275,900, ranks #17 by value in Maryland, while its derived rate of 0.89% compares with a derived US figure of 0.98%.

Some extra context for Washington County: the median bill works out to about $204 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $886 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 155,033 people — the #11 most populous county in Maryland, spread over 457 square miles, a density of about 339 people per square mile. Its median home value, $275,900, ranks #17 among the state's 24 counties with data.

Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 729 record a higher median tax bill than Washington County — it sits in the top 23% nationally. The county holds roughly 2.5% of Maryland's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $275,900 versus $397,700), and a decade at the derived rate of 0.89% adds up to about 8.86% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Somerset County, medians $1,603 — $841 less than Washington County per year.

Counties nearest Washington County in the Maryland ranking

Washington County and its population peers

Counties of a similar size can tax very differently. The table below shows the counties closest to Washington County in population across the United States, with their median bills and home values. Within the group of 9, Washington County ($2,444) ranks #6 of 9 by median tax paid.

The closest population match is Merrimack County, New Hampshire (155,018 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $6,617 on a median home value of $330,600 — $4,173 less than Washington County pays.

Staying within Maryland, the counties nearest Washington County by population are Carroll County (174,318 residents, median tax $3,837 on a median value of $406,400); Charles County (168,710 residents, median tax $4,179 on a median value of $402,300); St. Mary's County (114,372 residents, median tax $3,392 on a median value of $390,900); Cecil County (104,366 residents, median tax $3,059 on a median value of $311,800). 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

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 0.89%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $886 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $3,544. 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 Washington County at the derived rate

The derived rate of 0.89% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington 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

• Charles County, MD — $4,179
• Carroll County, MD — $3,837
• St. Mary's County, MD — $3,392
• Cecil County, MD — $3,059
• Wicomico County, MD — $2,120
• Calvert County, MD — $3,858

Frequently asked questions