Property Tax in Hampden County, Massachusetts
In Hampden County, Massachusetts, the typical homeowner pays $4,332 a year in property taxes on a home worth a median of $276,300. 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 Hampden County numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $4,332 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Hampden County, and $276,300 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 Hampden County is 1.57% (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 Hampden County
| Measure | Hampden County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $4,332 |
| Median home value | $276,300 |
| Derived effective rate* | 1.57% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $361 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $1,568 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $6,272 |
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.
Hampden County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Massachusetts: #11 of 14 counties
- Median home value rank in Massachusetts: #14 of 14
- Population rank in Massachusetts: #8 of 14 (462,853 residents)
- Population density rank: #7 of 14 (750 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Massachusetts: #6 of 14 (617 sq mi, 7.9% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $361; per $1,000 of home value: $1.57
How Hampden County compares
The median tax bill in Hampden County is about 25% lower than the state median ($5,813 for Massachusetts) and about 46% higher than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #11 out of 14 Massachusetts counties with published Census data — 10 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. Hampden County's derived rate of 1.57% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Hampden County: the median bill works out to about $361 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,568 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 462,853 people — the #8 most populous county in Massachusetts, spread over 617 square miles, a density of about 750 people per square mile. Its median home value, $276,300, ranks #14 among the state's 14 counties with data.
Nationally, Hampden County's median bill of $4,332 ranks #185 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 6% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 6.6% of Massachusetts's population, its median home value is about 47% below the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 15.68% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Hampden County to the most expensive county, Middlesex County ($7,240), is $2,908 a year.
Counties nearest Hampden County in the Massachusetts ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, MA | $4,595 | $303,400 | 1.51% |
| Suffolk County, MA | $4,533 | $680,700 | 0.67% |
| Barnstable County, MA | $4,090 | $575,900 | 0.71% |
| Berkshire County, MA | $3,891 | $283,800 | 1.37% |
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. Hampden County's medians imply a derived rate of 1.57%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $6,272 a year, or around $523 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Checking your assessment in Hampden 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 Hampden 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.
More Massachusetts counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Hampden County, Massachusetts?
The median real estate tax paid in Hampden County, Massachusetts is $4,332 per year, on a median home value of $276,300 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Hampden County, Massachusetts?
Dividing Hampden County's median tax bill ($4,332) by its median home value ($276,300) gives a derived effective rate of 1.57%. This is an estimate computed from two Census survey medians — it is not the county's official tax rate.
How does Hampden County compare with the rest of Massachusetts?
By median taxes paid, Hampden County stands at #11 among the 14 Massachusetts counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $4,332 median bill is about 25% lower than the state median ($5,813), and 10 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Hampden 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 Hampden County, the median outcome of that process is a bill of $4,332 on a median home value of $276,300.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Hampden County, Massachusetts?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Hampden 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.