San Francisco County, California property tax
The median homeowner in San Francisco County, California pays $9,412 a year in property tax on a home worth $1,380,500, an effective rate of 0.68%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
At 0.68%, San Francisco County taxes property more lightly than the national 0.98%. A low rate on an expensive house is not the bargain it looks like. The median bill is still $9,412, because 0.68% of $1,380,500 is not a small number.
It ranks #40 of 56 California counties by effective rate, against a statewide 0.71%, and #1,800 nationally. The state runs from 0.91% in Kern County down to 0.54% in Trinity County.
The median home costs 9.76 times the median household income of $141,446, against 3.86 nationally, so housing absorbs an unusually large share of what people here earn. Renters pay 20.52% of median income in gross rent. With 836,321 residents this is one of the larger counties in the country, so the medians here average across a genuinely varied housing market and hide a lot of local range.
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
| San Francisco County | California | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 0.68% | 0.71% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $9,412 | $4,926 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $1,380,500 | $695,400 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $2,419 | $1,956 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $141,446 | $96,334 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 9.76× | 7.22× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 20.52% | 24.37% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 38.5% | 55.79% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 836,321.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County | 0.69% | $5,326 | $768,400 |
| San Joaquin County | 0.76% | $3,782 | $494,500 |
| Kern County | 0.91% | $2,833 | $310,600 |
| San Mateo County | 0.61% | $9,167 | $1,494,500 |
| Fresno County | 0.75% | $2,704 | $362,600 |
San Francisco County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in San Francisco County, California?
The effective rate is 0.68% of home value, from a median tax bill of $9,412 against a median home value of $1,380,500. That is 0.3 points below the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in San Francisco County?
Roughly $2,720 a year at the county effective rate of 0.68%.
Is San Francisco County expensive compared with the rest of California?
It ranks #40 of 56 California counties by effective property tax rate, and #1800 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.03 points below the California average of 0.71%.
What does housing cost in San Francisco County?
The median home is worth $1,380,500 and median gross rent is $2,419 a month. Median household income is $141,446, which puts the home at 9.76 times annual income and rent at 20.52% of it.