Property Tax in Monroe County, New York
Homeowners in Monroe County, New York pay a median of $5,495 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $197,100. Those are the Census Bureau's published medians for the county (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023) — the typical bill and the typical home value for owner-occupied households.
What the Monroe County numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $5,495 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Monroe County, and $197,100 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 Monroe County is 2.79% (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.
Monroe County by the numbers
| Measure | Monroe County | New York | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $5,495 | $6,450 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $197,100 | $403,000 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 2.79% | 1.60% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $458 | $538 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Monroe County at a glance
- Median tax rank in New York: #14 of 62 counties
- Median home value rank in New York: #27 of 62
- Population rank in New York: #9 of 62 (754,068 residents)
- Population density rank: #10 of 62 (1,148 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in New York: #30 of 62 (656 sq mi, 1.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $458; per $1,000 of home value: $2.79
How Monroe County compares
The median tax bill in Monroe County is about 15% lower than the state median ($6,450 for New York) and about 85% higher than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #14 out of 62 New York counties with published Census data — 13 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. Monroe County's derived rate of 2.79% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Monroe County: the median bill works out to about $458 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $2,788 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 754,068 people — the #9 most populous county in New York, spread over 656 square miles, a density of about 1,148 people per square mile. Its median home value, $197,100, ranks #27 among the state's 62 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 98 record a higher median tax bill than Monroe County — it sits in the top 3% nationally. The county holds roughly 3.8% of New York's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $197,100 versus $403,000), and a decade at the derived rate of 2.79% adds up to about 27.88% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Hamilton County, medians $2,369 — $3,126 less than Monroe County per year.
Counties nearest Monroe County in the New York ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, NY | $6,120 | $889,700 | 0.69% |
| Richmond County, NY | $6,074 | $658,500 | 0.92% |
| Schenectady County, NY | $5,486 | $223,100 | 2.46% |
| Rensselaer County, NY | $5,357 | $244,300 | 2.19% |
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. Monroe County's medians imply a derived rate of 2.79%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $11,152 a year, or around $929 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Checking your assessment in Monroe County
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Monroe 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Monroe County, New York?
The median real estate tax paid in Monroe County, New York is $5,495 per year, on a median home value of $197,100 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Monroe County, New York?
The derived effective rate is 2.79% — the median bill ($5,495) expressed as a share of the median home value ($197,100). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Monroe County compare with the rest of New York?
By median taxes paid, Monroe County stands at #14 among the 62 New York counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $5,495 median bill is about 15% lower than the state median ($6,450), and 13 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Monroe County, New York?
Three steps produce the bill: an assessment of market value by the local assessor, a reduction for exemptions you qualify for (a homestead exemption is the common one), and multiplication by the combined rates of the county, municipality, school district and any special districts covering the property. The median result in Monroe County is $5,495 of tax on a $197,100 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Monroe County, New York?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Monroe County assessor's office and check it for errors, then compare your assessed value with recent sales of similar homes. If it still looks too high, file a formal appeal with the local review board named on your assessment notice before the deadline printed on the notice — windows are short, often 30 to 90 days.