Imperial County, California property tax
The median homeowner in Imperial County, California pays $2,348 a year in property tax on a home worth $279,500, an effective rate of 0.84%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
Imperial County taxes property at 0.84%, within a rounding error of the national 0.98%. That makes the $2,348 median bill mostly a statement about local house prices rather than about local tax policy.
Inside California it is one of the most heavily taxed counties there is, ranking #3 of 56, against a statewide 0.71%. At the other end of the same state, Trinity County charges 0.54%. A spread that wide inside one state is normal, because school districts, not states, set most of the levy.
The median home costs 4.96 times the median household income of $56,393, against 3.86 nationally, so housing absorbs an unusually large share of what people here earn. Renters pay 21.53% of median income in gross rent. The county has 179,319 residents, which is small enough that the medians describe a reasonably coherent market.
The rate is derived rather than quoted. How and why.
What that costs at different home values
Arithmetic at the county effective rate, before any exemption or assessment cap.
Housing and income
| Imperial County | California | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 0.84% | 0.71% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $2,348 | $4,926 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $279,500 | $695,400 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $1,012 | $1,956 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $56,393 | $96,334 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 4.96× | 7.22× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 21.53% | 24.37% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 56.78% | 55.79% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 179,319.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shasta County | 0.70% | $2,442 | $347,200 |
| El Dorado County | 0.70% | $4,510 | $640,500 |
| Madera County | 0.70% | $2,575 | $367,700 |
| Kings County | 0.75% | $2,295 | $305,700 |
| Butte County | 0.69% | $2,819 | $408,700 |
Imperial County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Imperial County, California?
The effective rate is 0.84% of home value, from a median tax bill of $2,348 against a median home value of $279,500. That is 0.14 points below the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Imperial County?
Roughly $3,360 a year at the county effective rate of 0.84%.
Is Imperial County expensive compared with the rest of California?
It ranks #3 of 56 California counties by effective property tax rate, and #1354 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.13 points above the California average of 0.71%.
What does housing cost in Imperial County?
The median home is worth $279,500 and median gross rent is $1,012 a month. Median household income is $56,393, which puts the home at 4.96 times annual income and rent at 21.53% of it.