Property Tax in Harrison County, Mississippi

What the Harrison County numbers mean

Read the two medians together: $1,289 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Harrison County, and $199,300 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 Harrison County is 0.65% (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 Harrison County

For context, the Mississippi medians are $1,189 of tax on $161,400 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.

Harrison County at a glance

• Median tax rank in Mississippi: #12 of 82 counties
• Median home value rank in Mississippi: #8 of 82
• Population rank in Mississippi: #2 of 82 (209,443 residents)
• Population density rank: #2 of 82 (365 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in Mississippi: #40 of 82 (573 sq mi, 1.2% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $107; per $1,000 of home value: $0.65

How Harrison County compares

Set against its state, Harrison County's median bill of $1,289 is about 8% higher than the Mississippi median ($1,189). Against the country as a whole it is about 57% lower than the US median ($2,969). That places the county #12 of 82 Mississippi counties ranked by median taxes paid.

Remember what drives the ranking: bills follow home values as much as rates. Harrison County's median home, at $199,300, ranks #8 by value in Mississippi, while its derived rate of 0.65% compares with a derived US figure of 0.98%.

Some extra context for Harrison County: the median bill works out to about $107 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $647 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 209,443 people — the #2 most populous county in Mississippi, spread over 573 square miles, a density of about 365 people per square mile. Its median home value, $199,300, ranks #8 among the state's 82 counties with data.

Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 1967 record a higher median tax bill than Harrison County — it sits in the top 63% nationally. The county holds roughly 7.1% of Mississippi's people. Its homes are worth more than the state norm (median $199,300 versus $161,400), and a decade at the derived rate of 0.65% adds up to about 6.47% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Issaquena County, medians $314 — $975 less than Harrison County per year.

Counties nearest Harrison County in the Mississippi ranking

Harrison County and its population peers

Population is a useful lens on these figures, so the table below sets Harrison County beside the counties closest to it in population anywhere in the country — communities of a similar scale operating under different state and local tax systems. Ranked by median tax paid within this peer group of 9, Harrison County's $1,289 bill is #7 of 9.

The closest population match is Butte County, California (209,470 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $2,819 on a median home value of $408,700 — $1,530 less than Harrison County pays.

Harrison County's nearest population neighbours within Mississippi are Hinds County (222,494 residents, median tax $1,389 on a median value of $151,200); DeSoto County (188,598 residents, median tax $1,595 on a median value of $248,700); Rankin County (158,218 residents, median tax $1,384 on a median value of $223,400). Comparing them is a reminder that even inside one state's rules, the bill follows local home values and local district rates more than anything decided at the state level.

How the tax is worked out

As an illustration of the arithmetic: at Harrison County's derived rate of 0.65%, a home valued at $400,000 would carry a tax bill of roughly $2,588 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 Harrison County at the derived rate

The derived rate of 0.65% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Harrison County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.74% 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 Harrison County

Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Harrison 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.

More Mississippi counties

• Hinds County, MS — $1,389
• DeSoto County, MS — $1,595
• Rankin County, MS — $1,384
• Jackson County, MS — $1,332
• Madison County, MS — $2,071
• Lee County, MS — $1,356

Frequently asked questions