Property Tax in Multnomah County, Oregon
Homeowners in Multnomah County, Oregon pay a median of $5,061 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $528,000. 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 Multnomah County numbers mean
The median is the midpoint of the county's actual bills: half of Multnomah County homeowners pay more than $5,061 a year and half pay less. The exact bill for any one home depends on its assessed value, exemptions, and which school, municipal and special districts cover it.
Set against the median home value of $528,000, the median bill works out to a derived effective rate of 0.96%. That rate is an estimate computed from the two medians — no county publishes a rate calculated this way — but it adjusts for home prices, which makes comparisons between counties more meaningful.
Multnomah County by the numbers
| Measure | Multnomah County | Oregon | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $5,061 | $3,767 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $528,000 | $454,200 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.96% | 0.83% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $422 | $314 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Multnomah County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Oregon: #1 of 36 counties
- Median home value rank in Oregon: #5 of 36
- Population rank in Oregon: #1 of 36 (803,863 residents)
- Population density rank: #1 of 36 (1,865 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Oregon: #36 of 36 (431 sq mi, 0.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $422; per $1,000 of home value: $0.96
How Multnomah County compares
Of the 36 Oregon counties with published data, 0 have a higher median property tax bill than Multnomah County's $5,061, putting the county at #1 in the state. Its bill is about 34% higher than the state median of $3,767 and about 70% higher than the national median of $2,969.
Rates and values pull in opposite directions: an expensive housing market can produce big bills at ordinary rates. Here the derived rate is 0.96%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #5 within Oregon.
Some extra context for Multnomah County: the median bill works out to about $422 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $959 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 803,863 people — the #1 most populous county in Oregon, spread over 431 square miles, a density of about 1,865 people per square mile. Its median home value, $528,000, ranks #5 among the state's 36 counties with data.
Nationally, Multnomah County's median bill of $5,061 ranks #122 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 4% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 19.0% of Oregon's population, its median home value is about 16% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 9.59% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Multnomah County to the most expensive county, Multnomah County ($5,061), is $0 a year.
Counties nearest Multnomah County in the Oregon ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clackamas County, OR | $5,051 | $577,900 | 0.87% |
| Washington County, OR | $4,852 | $558,500 | 0.87% |
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. Multnomah County's medians imply a derived rate of 0.96%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $3,836 a year, or around $320 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Checking your assessment in Multnomah 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 Multnomah 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 Oregon counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Multnomah County, Oregon?
The median real estate tax paid in Multnomah County, Oregon is $5,061 per year, on a median home value of $528,000 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Multnomah County, Oregon?
Dividing Multnomah County's median tax bill ($5,061) by its median home value ($528,000) gives a derived effective rate of 0.96%. This is an estimate computed from two Census survey medians — it is not the county's official tax rate.
How does Multnomah County compare with the rest of Oregon?
By median taxes paid, Multnomah County stands at #1 among the 36 Oregon counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $5,061 median bill is about 34% higher than the state median ($3,767), and 0 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Multnomah County, Oregon?
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 Multnomah County, the median outcome of that process is a bill of $5,061 on a median home value of $528,000.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Multnomah County, Oregon?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Multnomah 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.