Property Tax in Smith County, Texas
The median real estate tax bill in Smith County, Texas is $2,749 per year, and the median home is worth $220,800. 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 Smith County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Smith County pay more than $2,749, 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 1.25% for Smith 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 Smith County
| Measure | Smith County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $2,749 |
| Median home value | $220,800 |
| Derived effective rate* | 1.25% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $229 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $1,245 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $4,980 |
For context, the Texas medians are $4,111 of tax on $260,400 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Smith County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Texas: #51 of 250 counties
- Median home value rank in Texas: #53 of 250
- Population rank in Texas: #23 of 250 (238,014 residents)
- Population density rank: #26 of 250 (258 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Texas: #107 of 250 (921 sq mi, 0.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $229; per $1,000 of home value: $1.25
How Smith County compares
Of the 250 Texas counties with published data, 50 have a higher median property tax bill than Smith County's $2,749, putting the county at #51 in the state. Its bill is about 33% lower than the state median of $4,111 and about 7% lower 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 1.25%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #53 within Texas.
Some extra context for Smith County: the median bill works out to about $229 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $1,245 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 238,014 people — the #23 most populous county in Texas, spread over 921 square miles, a density of about 258 people per square mile. Its median home value, $220,800, ranks #53 among the state's 250 counties with data.
Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 550 record a higher median tax bill than Smith County — it sits in the top 18% nationally. The county holds roughly 0.8% of Texas's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $220,800 versus $260,400), and a decade at the derived rate of 1.25% adds up to about 12.45% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, Crockett County, medians $466 — $2,283 less than Smith County per year.
Counties nearest Smith County in the Texas ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooke County, TX | $2,794 | $224,600 | 1.24% |
| San Patricio County, TX | $2,754 | $180,400 | 1.53% |
| Wharton County, TX | $2,749 | $182,700 | 1.50% |
| Hunt County, TX | $2,736 | $210,900 | 1.30% |
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 1.25%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $1,245 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $4,980. 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 Smith 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 Smith 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 Smith County, Texas?
The median real estate tax paid in Smith County, Texas is $2,749 per year, on a median home value of $220,800 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Smith County, Texas?
The derived effective rate is 1.25% — the median bill ($2,749) expressed as a share of the median home value ($220,800). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Smith County compare with the rest of Texas?
By median taxes paid, Smith County stands at #51 among the 250 Texas counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $2,749 median bill is about 33% lower than the state median ($4,111), and 50 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Smith 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 Smith County is $2,749 of tax on a $220,800 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Smith County, Texas?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Smith 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.