Property Tax in Essex County, Massachusetts
In Essex County, Massachusetts, the typical homeowner pays $6,267 a year in property taxes on a home worth a median of $584,000. 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 Essex County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Essex County pay more than $6,267, 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 1.07% for Essex 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 Essex County
| Measure | Essex County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $6,267 |
| Median home value | $584,000 |
| Derived effective rate* | 1.07% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $522 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $1,073 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $4,292 |
For context, the Massachusetts medians are $5,813 of tax on $525,800 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Essex County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Massachusetts: #4 of 14 counties
- Median home value rank in Massachusetts: #6 of 14
- Population rank in Massachusetts: #3 of 14 (807,258 residents)
- Population density rank: #4 of 14 (1,639 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Massachusetts: #9 of 14 (492 sq mi, 6.3% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $522; per $1,000 of home value: $1.07
How Essex County compares
Set against its state, Essex County's median bill of $6,267 is about 8% higher than the Massachusetts median ($5,813). Against the country as a whole it is about 111% higher than the US median ($2,969). That places the county #4 of 14 Massachusetts counties ranked by median taxes paid.
Remember what drives the ranking: bills follow home values as much as rates. Essex County's median home, at $584,000, ranks #6 by value in Massachusetts, while its derived rate of 1.07% compares with a derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Essex County: the median bill works out to about $522 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,073 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 807,258 people — the #3 most populous county in Massachusetts, spread over 492 square miles, a density of about 1,639 people per square mile. Its median home value, $584,000, ranks #6 among the state's 14 counties with data.
Nationally, Essex County's median bill of $6,267 ranks #72 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 2% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 11.5% of Massachusetts's population, its median home value is about 11% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 10.73% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Essex County to the most expensive county, Middlesex County ($7,240), is $973 a year.
Counties nearest Essex County in the Massachusetts ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk County, MA | $7,081 | $649,400 | 1.09% |
| Plymouth County, MA | $6,345 | $513,000 | 1.24% |
| Dukes County, MA | $5,503 | $1,104,100 | 0.50% |
| Hampshire County, MA | $5,326 | $363,400 | 1.47% |
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. Essex County's medians imply a derived rate of 1.07%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $4,292 a year, or around $358 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Checking your assessment in Essex 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 Essex 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Essex County, Massachusetts?
The median real estate tax paid in Essex County, Massachusetts is $6,267 per year, on a median home value of $584,000 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Essex County, Massachusetts?
On a derived basis, 1.07%: the county's median tax bill of $6,267 divided by its median home value of $584,000. Because it is calculated from two survey medians, read it as a comparison estimate rather than an official rate.
How does Essex County compare with the rest of Massachusetts?
By median taxes paid, Essex County stands at #4 among the 14 Massachusetts counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $6,267 median bill is about 8% higher than the state median ($5,813), and 3 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Essex County, Massachusetts?
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 Essex County, the median outcome of that process is a bill of $6,267 on a median home value of $584,000.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Essex County, Massachusetts?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Essex 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.