Highest property taxes in California: Census estimated rates

Ordered by median annual taxes paid divided by median home value. These are survey estimates, not local statutory tax rates.

See lowest estimated rates in California | Compare counties with your own home value

Census survey estimates, 2020–2024 ACS five-year vintage 2024. Effective rate here means median annual real estate taxes paid (B25103) divided by median owner-occupied home value (B25077). Owner-occupied units come from B25003. This is a ratio of two medians, not a statutory rate or the median of individual homeowners’ rates.

Survey estimates have sampling error. Countywide medians do not account for a particular home’s condition, assessment rules, exemptions or taxing districts. Rankings describe point estimates, not statistically significant differences. Missing and bounded estimates are excluded from rates and rankings.

Last verified 2026-10-24. Census data and methodology. Amounts are in 2024 dollars; no inflation adjustment is applied to your inputs. Displayed rates are rounded; calculations use the unrounded ratio.

California county ranking

56 counties with usable estimates. Ties use FIPS order; rankings use unrounded ratios. Small displayed differences may reflect rounding or survey error.

California counties, highest estimated rates first (2020–2024)
Rank	County	Estimated effective rate	Median home value	Median annual taxes paid	Owner-occupied units	Census sources
1	Kern County, CA	0.88%	$338,300	$2,984	171,133	Value / Tax / Units
2	Placer County, CA	0.84%	$688,100	$5,812	118,103	Value / Tax / Units
3	Contra Costa County, CA	0.83%	$866,800	$7,156	281,819	Value / Tax / Units
4	San Benito County, CA	0.81%	$793,400	$6,441	13,970	Value / Tax / Units
5	Riverside County, CA	0.78%	$557,300	$4,348	535,986	Value / Tax / Units
6	Alameda County, CA	0.78%	$1,090,100	$8,474	325,509	Value / Tax / Units
7	Imperial County, CA	0.77%	$309,600	$2,394	28,210	Value / Tax / Units
8	Alpine County, CA	0.77%	$590,200	$4,530	340	Value / Tax / Units
9	Yolo County, CA	0.77%	$620,700	$4,749	41,637	Value / Tax / Units
10	Nevada County, CA	0.75%	$621,800	$4,694	32,342	Value / Tax / Units
11	Sutter County, CA	0.75%	$433,500	$3,268	20,417	Value / Tax / Units
12	Solano County, CA	0.75%	$617,700	$4,621	99,263	Value / Tax / Units
13	Kings County, CA	0.75%	$324,300	$2,425	23,870	Value / Tax / Units
14	San Joaquin County, CA	0.75%	$530,700	$3,960	152,030	Value / Tax / Units
15	Yuba County, CA	0.74%	$412,300	$3,071	18,182	Value / Tax / Units
16	Inyo County, CA	0.74%	$348,700	$2,576	5,339	Value / Tax / Units
17	Fresno County, CA	0.74%	$388,800	$2,861	180,371	Value / Tax / Units
18	Sacramento County, CA	0.73%	$534,200	$3,921	337,066	Value / Tax / Units
19	Lake County, CA	0.73%	$324,300	$2,369	19,441	Value / Tax / Units
20	Calaveras County, CA	0.73%	$457,200	$3,319	15,480	Value / Tax / Units
21	Lassen County, CA	0.72%	$265,300	$1,923	6,305	Value / Tax / Units
22	Stanislaus County, CA	0.71%	$450,100	$3,216	108,828	Value / Tax / Units
23	San Francisco County, CA	0.71%	$1,394,500	$9,862	139,057	Value / Tax / Units
24	Amador County, CA	0.71%	$449,800	$3,172	12,941	Value / Tax / Units
25	Plumas County, CA	0.70%	$360,200	$2,537	6,006	Value / Tax / Units
26	Tulare County, CA	0.70%	$330,100	$2,318	83,701	Value / Tax / Units
27	Madera County, CA	0.70%	$393,200	$2,756	30,613	Value / Tax / Units
28	San Bernardino County, CA	0.70%	$505,000	$3,538	418,836	Value / Tax / Units
29	El Dorado County, CA	0.70%	$679,900	$4,753	58,844	Value / Tax / Units
30	Sonoma County, CA	0.70%	$815,500	$5,695	119,598	Value / Tax / Units
31	Butte County, CA	0.69%	$424,700	$2,951	47,717	Value / Tax / Units
32	Modoc County, CA	0.69%	$224,700	$1,561	2,530	Value / Tax / Units
33	Shasta County, CA	0.69%	$366,400	$2,542	46,694	Value / Tax / Units
34	Mendocino County, CA	0.69%	$512,200	$3,545	21,500	Value / Tax / Units
35	Napa County, CA	0.69%	$869,500	$5,995	31,555	Value / Tax / Units
36	Sierra County, CA	0.69%	$331,900	$2,279	879	Value / Tax / Units
37	San Luis Obispo County, CA	0.68%	$824,700	$5,636	67,986	Value / Tax / Units
38	Los Angeles County, CA	0.68%	$834,200	$5,675	1,567,983	Value / Tax / Units
39	Ventura County, CA	0.68%	$822,700	$5,574	181,039	Value / Tax / Units
40	San Diego County, CA	0.68%	$854,700	$5,774	639,138	Value / Tax / Units
41	Merced County, CA	0.67%	$391,800	$2,634	46,474	Value / Tax / Units
42	Tuolumne County, CA	0.66%	$433,200	$2,864	16,771	Value / Tax / Units
43	Orange County, CA	0.66%	$962,600	$6,330	610,659	Value / Tax / Units
44	Mono County, CA	0.65%	$639,400	$4,177	3,758	Value / Tax / Units
45	Santa Barbara County, CA	0.65%	$790,700	$5,103	78,344	Value / Tax / Units
46	Glenn County, CA	0.64%	$352,400	$2,263	6,002	Value / Tax / Units
47	Humboldt County, CA	0.64%	$446,900	$2,858	31,053	Value / Tax / Units
48	Siskiyou County, CA	0.64%	$309,500	$1,973	13,203	Value / Tax / Units
49	Santa Cruz County, CA	0.64%	$1,027,500	$6,538	58,079	Value / Tax / Units
50	Monterey County, CA	0.63%	$781,000	$4,910	68,993	Value / Tax / Units
51	Tehama County, CA	0.62%	$339,600	$2,118	16,640	Value / Tax / Units
52	Colusa County, CA	0.62%	$393,400	$2,426	4,674	Value / Tax / Units
53	Del Norte County, CA	0.61%	$342,000	$2,099	6,673	Value / Tax / Units
54	Mariposa County, CA	0.61%	$387,900	$2,377	5,611	Value / Tax / Units
55	San Mateo County, CA	0.61%	$1,559,600	$9,519	154,607	Value / Tax / Units
56	Trinity County, CA	0.58%	$325,800	$1,888	4,006	Value / Tax / Units

2 counties excluded from the ranking

At least one median is missing or bounded; no precise ratio is shown.

Counties with incomplete Census medians (2020–2024)
County	Estimated effective rate	Median home value	Median annual taxes paid	Owner-occupied units	Census sources
Santa Clara County, CA	Unavailable	$1,490,600	Unavailable	363,147	Value / / Units
Marin County, CA	Unavailable	$1,507,300	Unavailable	66,616	Value / / Units

Highest property taxes in California: Census estimated rates

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