Property Tax in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the typical homeowner pays $5,833 a year in property taxes on a home worth a median of $421,700. 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 Bucks County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Bucks County pay more than $5,833, and half pay less. Your own bill is set by your home's assessed value, the exemptions you qualify for, and the local taxing districts your property sits in — so individual bills vary widely around the median.
Dividing the median tax by the median home value gives a derived effective rate of 1.38% for Bucks County. It is an estimate built from two survey medians, not the county's official rate, but it is a fair way to compare the local tax burden with other counties where home values are very different.
Bucks County by the numbers
| Measure | Bucks County | Pennsylvania | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $5,833 | $3,241 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $421,700 | $240,500 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 1.38% | 1.35% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $486 | $270 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Bucks County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Pennsylvania: #3 of 67 counties
- Median home value rank in Pennsylvania: #2 of 67
- Population rank in Pennsylvania: #4 of 67 (645,993 residents)
- Population density rank: #6 of 67 (1,069 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Pennsylvania: #37 of 67 (604 sq mi, 1.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $486; per $1,000 of home value: $1.38
How Bucks County compares
Of the 67 Pennsylvania counties with published data, 2 have a higher median property tax bill than Bucks County's $5,833, putting the county at #3 in the state. Its bill is about 80% higher than the state median of $3,241 and about 96% 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 1.38%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #2 within Pennsylvania.
Some extra context for Bucks County: the median bill works out to about $486 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,383 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 645,993 people — the #4 most populous county in Pennsylvania, spread over 604 square miles, a density of about 1,069 people per square mile. Its median home value, $421,700, ranks #2 among the state's 67 counties with data.
Nationally, Bucks County's median bill of $5,833 ranks #88 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 3% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 5.0% of Pennsylvania's population, its median home value is about 75% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 13.83% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Bucks County to the most expensive county, Chester County ($6,191), is $358 a year.
Counties nearest Bucks County in the Pennsylvania ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester County, PA | $6,191 | $461,800 | 1.34% |
| Delaware County, PA | $6,001 | $302,400 | 1.98% |
| Montgomery County, PA | $5,776 | $409,900 | 1.41% |
| Northampton County, PA | $4,710 | $285,000 | 1.65% |
How the tax is worked out
As an illustration of the arithmetic: at Bucks County's derived rate of 1.38%, a home valued at $400,000 would carry a tax bill of roughly $5,532 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.
Checking your assessment in Bucks 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 Bucks 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 Pennsylvania counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Bucks County, Pennsylvania?
The median real estate tax paid in Bucks County, Pennsylvania is $5,833 per year, on a median home value of $421,700 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Bucks County, Pennsylvania?
The derived effective rate is 1.38% — the median bill ($5,833) expressed as a share of the median home value ($421,700). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Bucks County compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?
Bucks County ranks #3 of 67 Pennsylvania counties with published data by median taxes paid. Its median bill of $5,833 is about 80% higher than the Pennsylvania median of $3,241.
How are property taxes calculated in Bucks County, Pennsylvania?
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 Bucks County is $5,833 of tax on a $421,700 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Bucks County, Pennsylvania?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Bucks 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.