Property Tax in Sullivan County, New York
The median real estate tax bill in Sullivan County, New York is $5,082 per year, and the median home is worth $234,800. Both figures are the US Census Bureau's survey medians for owner-occupied households (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What the Sullivan County numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $5,082 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Sullivan County, and $234,800 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 Sullivan County is 2.16% (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.
Sullivan County by the numbers
| Measure | Sullivan County | New York | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $5,082 | $6,450 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $234,800 | $403,000 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 2.16% | 1.60% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $424 | $538 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Sullivan County at a glance
- Median tax rank in New York: #19 of 62 counties
- Median home value rank in New York: #22 of 62
- Population rank in New York: #33 of 62 (79,147 residents)
- Population density rank: #42 of 62 (82 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in New York: #18 of 62 (968 sq mi, 2.1% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $424; per $1,000 of home value: $2.16
How Sullivan County compares
The median tax bill in Sullivan County is about 21% lower than the state median ($6,450 for New York) and about 71% higher than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #19 out of 62 New York counties with published Census data — 18 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. Sullivan County's derived rate of 2.16% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Sullivan County: the median bill works out to about $424 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $2,164 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 79,147 people — the #33 most populous county in New York, spread over 968 square miles, a density of about 82 people per square mile. Its median home value, $234,800, ranks #22 among the state's 62 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 120 record a higher median tax bill than Sullivan County — it sits in the top 4% nationally. The county holds roughly 0.4% of New York's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $234,800 versus $403,000), and a decade at the derived rate of 2.16% adds up to about 21.64% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Hamilton County, medians $2,369 — $2,713 less than Sullivan County per year.
Counties nearest Sullivan County in the New York ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronx County, NY | $5,310 | $517,000 | 1.03% |
| Albany County, NY | $5,253 | $277,400 | 1.89% |
| Saratoga County, NY | $4,843 | $324,800 | 1.49% |
| Onondaga County, NY | $4,805 | $185,300 | 2.59% |
Sullivan County and its population peers
For a like-for-like sense of scale, compare Sullivan County with its national population peers: the counties nearest to its 79,147 residents, listed in the table below with their own Census medians. Of the 9 counties in that group, Sullivan County's median bill of $5,082 is the highest.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oconee County, SC | 79,566 | $856 | $217,200 | 0.39% |
| Chelan County, WA | 79,518 | $3,235 | $454,900 | 0.71% |
| Clinton County, MI | 79,419 | $3,048 | $243,700 | 1.25% |
| Lynchburg city, VA | 79,255 | $1,778 | $211,800 | 0.84% |
| Clinton County, NY | 78,961 | $3,461 | $175,100 | 1.98% |
| Clearfield County, PA | 78,902 | $1,488 | $125,000 | 1.19% |
| Wilson County, NC | 78,648 | $1,428 | $171,800 | 0.83% |
| Chatham County, NC | 78,319 | $2,671 | $397,800 | 0.67% |
The closest population match is Lynchburg city, Virginia (79,255 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $1,778 on a median home value of $211,800 — $3,304 more than Sullivan County pays.
Staying within New York, the counties nearest Sullivan County by population are Wayne County (91,128 residents, median tax $4,168 on a median value of $163,400); Chemung County (82,805 residents, median tax $3,332 on a median value of $132,100); Clinton County (78,961 residents, median tax $3,461 on a median value of $175,100); Cattaraugus County (76,479 residents, median tax $2,946 on a median value of $109,400). 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 2.16%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $2,164 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $8,656. 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 Sullivan County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 2.16% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Sullivan County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 1.60% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $3,246 | $270 |
| $250,000 | $5,410 | $451 |
| $350,000 | $7,574 | $631 |
| $500,000 | $10,820 | $902 |
| $750,000 | $16,230 | $1,352 |
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 Sullivan County
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Sullivan 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 Sullivan County, New York?
The median real estate tax paid in Sullivan County, New York is $5,082 per year, on a median home value of $234,800 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Sullivan County, New York?
On a derived basis, 2.16%: the county's median tax bill of $5,082 divided by its median home value of $234,800. Because it is calculated from two survey medians, read it as a comparison estimate rather than an official rate.
How does Sullivan County compare with the rest of New York?
By median taxes paid, Sullivan County stands at #19 among the 62 New York counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $5,082 median bill is about 21% lower than the state median ($6,450), and 18 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Sullivan 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 Sullivan County is $5,082 of tax on a $234,800 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Sullivan County, New York?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Sullivan 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.