Property Tax in Cameron County, Texas
Homeowners in Cameron County, Texas pay a median of $1,946 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $120,000. 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 Cameron County numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $1,946 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Cameron County, and $120,000 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 Cameron County is 1.62% (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.
Cameron County by the numbers
| Measure | Cameron County | Texas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $1,946 | $4,111 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $120,000 | $260,400 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 1.62% | 1.58% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $162 | $343 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Cameron County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Texas: #116 of 250 counties
- Median home value rank in Texas: #176 of 250
- Population rank in Texas: #13 of 250 (423,192 residents)
- Population density rank: #15 of 250 (475 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Texas: #157 of 250 (891 sq mi, 0.3% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $162; per $1,000 of home value: $1.62
How Cameron County compares
Set against its state, Cameron County's median bill of $1,946 is about 53% lower than the Texas median ($4,111). Against the country as a whole it is about 34% lower than the US median ($2,969). That places the county #116 of 250 Texas counties ranked by median taxes paid.
Remember what drives the ranking: bills follow home values as much as rates. Cameron County's median home, at $120,000, ranks #176 by value in Texas, while its derived rate of 1.62% compares with a derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Cameron County: the median bill works out to about $162 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,622 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 423,192 people — the #13 most populous county in Texas, spread over 891 square miles, a density of about 475 people per square mile. Its median home value, $120,000, ranks #176 among the state's 250 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 1113 record a higher median tax bill than Cameron County — it sits in the top 36% nationally. The county holds roughly 1.4% of Texas's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $120,000 versus $260,400), and a decade at the derived rate of 1.62% adds up to about 16.22% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Crockett County, medians $466 — $1,480 less than Cameron County per year.
Counties nearest Cameron County in the Texas ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzales County, TX | $1,949 | $158,900 | 1.23% |
| Presidio County, TX | $1,949 | $123,100 | 1.58% |
| Franklin County, TX | $1,944 | $213,200 | 0.91% |
| Cherokee County, TX | $1,941 | $160,300 | 1.21% |
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 1.62%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $1,622 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $6,488. Real bills use the official assessment and district rates, not this derived figure, so treat the example as a sense of scale only.
Checking your assessment in Cameron County
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Cameron County assessor: wrong square footage, an extra room, or a missing homestead exemption are common and fixable. Next, line your assessed value up against recent sales of genuinely similar homes nearby. Many disputes end at an informal conversation with the assessor's office; if yours does not, file the formal appeal with the review board named on your notice before its deadline, evidence attached, and keep paying the bill in the meantime so penalties do not build up.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Cameron County, Texas?
The median real estate tax paid in Cameron County, Texas is $1,946 per year, on a median home value of $120,000 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Cameron County, Texas?
The derived effective rate is 1.62% — the median bill ($1,946) expressed as a share of the median home value ($120,000). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Cameron County compare with the rest of Texas?
By median taxes paid, Cameron County stands at #116 among the 250 Texas counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $1,946 median bill is about 53% lower than the state median ($4,111), and 115 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Cameron County, Texas?
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 Cameron County is $1,946 of tax on a $120,000 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Cameron County, Texas?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Cameron 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.