Property Tax in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
In Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, the typical homeowner pays $4,591 a year in property taxes on a home worth a median of $276,100. 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 Lehigh County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Lehigh County pay more than $4,591, 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 1.66% for Lehigh 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.
The key figures for Lehigh County
| Measure | Lehigh County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $4,591 |
| Median home value | $276,100 |
| Derived effective rate* | 1.66% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $383 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $1,663 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $6,652 |
For context, the Pennsylvania medians are $3,241 of tax on $240,500 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Lehigh County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Pennsylvania: #6 of 67 counties
- Median home value rank in Pennsylvania: #8 of 67
- Population rank in Pennsylvania: #10 of 67 (375,408 residents)
- Population density rank: #5 of 67 (1,087 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Pennsylvania: #62 of 67 (345 sq mi, 0.8% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $383; per $1,000 of home value: $1.66
How Lehigh County compares
The median tax bill in Lehigh County is about 42% higher than the state median ($3,241 for Pennsylvania) and about 55% higher than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #6 out of 67 Pennsylvania counties with published Census data — 5 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. Lehigh County's derived rate of 1.66% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Lehigh County: the median bill works out to about $383 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,663 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 375,408 people — the #10 most populous county in Pennsylvania, spread over 345 square miles, a density of about 1,087 people per square mile. Its median home value, $276,100, ranks #8 among the state's 67 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 152 record a higher median tax bill than Lehigh County — it sits in the top 5% nationally. The county holds roughly 2.9% of Pennsylvania's people. Its homes are worth more than the state norm (median $276,100 versus $240,500), and a decade at the derived rate of 1.66% adds up to about 16.63% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Forest County, medians $1,162 — $3,429 less than Lehigh County per year.
Counties nearest Lehigh County in the Pennsylvania ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County, PA | $5,776 | $409,900 | 1.41% |
| Northampton County, PA | $4,710 | $285,000 | 1.65% |
| Monroe County, PA | $4,435 | $241,200 | 1.84% |
| Berks County, PA | $4,238 | $239,700 | 1.77% |
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. Lehigh County's medians imply a derived rate of 1.66%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $6,652 a year, or around $554 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Checking your assessment in Lehigh 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 Lehigh 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania?
The median real estate tax paid in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania is $4,591 per year, on a median home value of $276,100 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania?
The derived effective rate is 1.66% — the median bill ($4,591) expressed as a share of the median home value ($276,100). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Lehigh County compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?
By median taxes paid, Lehigh County stands at #6 among the 67 Pennsylvania counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $4,591 median bill is about 42% higher than the state median ($3,241), and 5 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania?
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 Lehigh County, the median outcome of that process is a bill of $4,591 on a median home value of $276,100.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Lehigh 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.