Property Tax in Mercer County, Pennsylvania

What the Mercer County numbers mean

Read the two medians together: $1,943 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Mercer County, and $153,600 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 Mercer County is 1.26% (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.

Mercer County by the numbers

*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.

Mercer County at a glance

• Median tax rank in Pennsylvania: #49 of 67 counties
• Median home value rank in Pennsylvania: #46 of 67
• Population rank in Pennsylvania: #30 of 67 (109,852 residents)
• Population density rank: #31 of 67 (163 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in Pennsylvania: #33 of 67 (672 sq mi, 1.5% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $162; per $1,000 of home value: $1.26

How Mercer County compares

The median tax bill in Mercer County is about 40% lower than the state median ($3,241 for Pennsylvania) and about 35% lower than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #49 out of 67 Pennsylvania counties with published Census data — 48 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. Mercer County's derived rate of 1.26% sits above the derived US figure of 0.98%.

Some extra context for Mercer County: the median bill works out to about $162 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,265 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 109,852 people — the #30 most populous county in Pennsylvania, spread over 672 square miles, a density of about 163 people per square mile. Its median home value, $153,600, ranks #46 among the state's 67 counties with data.

Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 1119 record a higher median tax bill than Mercer County — it sits in the top 36% nationally. The county holds roughly 0.8% of Pennsylvania's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $153,600 versus $240,500), and a decade at the derived rate of 1.26% adds up to about 12.65% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Forest County, medians $1,162 — $781 less than Mercer County per year.

Counties nearest Mercer County in the Pennsylvania ranking

Mercer County and its population peers

Population is a useful lens on these figures, so the table below sets Mercer County beside the counties closest to it in population anywhere in the country — communities of a similar scale operating under different state and local tax systems. Ranked by median tax paid within this peer group of 9, Mercer County's $1,943 bill is #7 of 9.

The closest population match is Bradley County, Tennessee (109,743 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $1,174 on a median home value of $230,800 — $769 more than Mercer County pays.

Inside Pennsylvania itself, the counties closest to Mercer County in population are Blair County (121,854 residents, median tax $1,711 on a median value of $156,700); Lycoming County (113,570 residents, median tax $2,647 on a median value of $195,600); Adams County (105,183 residents, median tax $3,569 on a median value of $256,100); Northumberland County (90,925 residents, median tax $1,778 on a median value of $151,600). Same state, same broad tax framework — yet the median bills still differ, because assessed values and the mix of county, municipal and school-district rates are set locally.

How the tax is worked out

As an illustration of the arithmetic: at Mercer County's derived rate of 1.26%, a home valued at $400,000 would carry a tax bill of roughly $5,060 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.

Illustrative bills in Mercer County at the derived rate

The derived rate of 1.26% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Mercer County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 1.35% and the US figure of 0.98%:

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 Mercer County

If your bill looks wrong, work through these steps:

1. Get your property record card from the assessor and check the basics — living area, lot size, bedrooms, condition, and any exemptions you should have.
2. Compare your assessed value with recent sale prices of similar homes in Mercer County.
3. Talk to the assessor's office informally first; clear errors are often fixed without a hearing.
4. If needed, file a formal appeal with the local review board before the deadline on your assessment notice, with your evidence attached.
5. Keep paying the bill as issued while the appeal runs, unless your notice says otherwise — unpaid taxes accrue penalties regardless of an appeal.

More Pennsylvania counties

• Lycoming County, PA — $2,647
• Adams County, PA — $3,569
• Blair County, PA — $1,711
• Fayette County, PA — $1,516
• Northumberland County, PA — $1,778
• Cambria County, PA — $1,487

Frequently asked questions