Property Tax in Anderson County, South Carolina
The median real estate tax bill in Anderson County, South Carolina is $985 per year, and the median home is worth $212,500. 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 Anderson County numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $985 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Anderson County, and $212,500 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 Anderson County is 0.46% (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.
The key figures for Anderson County
| Measure | Anderson County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $985 |
| Median home value | $212,500 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.46% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $82 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $464 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $1,856 |
For context, the South Carolina medians are $1,199 of tax on $236,700 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Anderson County at a glance
- Median tax rank in South Carolina: #15 of 46 counties
- Median home value rank in South Carolina: #16 of 46
- Population rank in South Carolina: #9 of 46 (207,218 residents)
- Population density rank: #9 of 46 (290 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in South Carolina: #15 of 46 (713 sq mi, 2.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $82; per $1,000 of home value: $0.46
How Anderson County compares
The median tax bill in Anderson County is about 18% lower than the state median ($1,199 for South Carolina) and about 67% lower than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #15 out of 46 South Carolina counties with published Census data — 14 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. Anderson County's derived rate of 0.46% sits below the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Anderson County: the median bill works out to about $82 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $464 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 207,218 people — the #9 most populous county in South Carolina, spread over 713 square miles, a density of about 290 people per square mile. Its median home value, $212,500, ranks #16 among the state's 46 counties with data.
Nationally, Anderson County's median bill of $985 ranks #2390 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 76% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 4.0% of South Carolina's population, its median home value is about 10% below the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 4.64% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Anderson County to the most expensive county, Beaufort County ($2,022), is $1,037 a year.
Counties nearest Anderson County in the South Carolina ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newberry County, SC | $1,090 | $158,200 | 0.69% |
| McCormick County, SC | $1,014 | $159,000 | 0.64% |
| Greenwood County, SC | $973 | $166,400 | 0.58% |
| Kershaw County, SC | $937 | $191,900 | 0.49% |
Anderson County and its population peers
Counties of a similar size can tax very differently. The table below shows the counties closest to Anderson County in population across the United States, with their median bills and home values. Within the group of 9, Anderson County ($985) ranks #8 of 9 by median tax paid.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calcasieu Parish, LA | 208,668 | $926 | $208,500 | 0.44% |
| Onslow County, NC | 208,537 | $1,431 | $219,500 | 0.65% |
| Hall County, GA | 208,395 | $2,382 | $313,600 | 0.76% |
| Yuma County, AZ | 207,685 | $1,281 | $195,700 | 0.66% |
| Elkhart County, IN | 206,868 | $1,592 | $194,400 | 0.82% |
| Champaign County, IL | 206,098 | $4,245 | $205,100 | 2.07% |
| Richmond County, GA | 206,040 | $1,440 | $163,300 | 0.88% |
| Muscogee County, GA | 204,383 | $1,526 | $182,300 | 0.84% |
The closest population match is Elkhart County, Indiana (206,868 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $1,592 on a median home value of $194,400 — $607 less than Anderson County pays.
Staying within South Carolina, the counties nearest Anderson County by population are York County (288,559 residents, median tax $1,602 on a median value of $322,700); Berkeley County (238,723 residents, median tax $1,343 on a median value of $280,300); Beaufort County (192,123 residents, median tax $2,022 on a median value of $407,600); Aiken County (171,949 residents, median tax $862 on a median value of $199,500). 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 0.46%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $464 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $1,856. 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 Anderson County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 0.46% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Anderson County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.51% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $696 | $58 |
| $250,000 | $1,160 | $97 |
| $350,000 | $1,624 | $135 |
| $500,000 | $2,320 | $193 |
| $750,000 | $3,480 | $290 |
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 Anderson 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 Anderson 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 South Carolina counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Anderson County, South Carolina?
The median real estate tax paid in Anderson County, South Carolina is $985 per year, on a median home value of $212,500 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Anderson County, South Carolina?
On a derived basis, 0.46%: the county's median tax bill of $985 divided by its median home value of $212,500. Because it is calculated from two survey medians, read it as a comparison estimate rather than an official rate.
How does Anderson County compare with the rest of South Carolina?
By median taxes paid, Anderson County stands at #15 among the 46 South Carolina counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $985 median bill is about 18% lower than the state median ($1,199), and 14 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Anderson County, South Carolina?
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 Anderson County is $985 of tax on a $212,500 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Anderson County, South Carolina?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Anderson 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.