Santa Clara County, California property tax
The median homeowner in Santa Clara County, California pays $9,766 a year in property tax on a home worth $1,382,800, an effective rate of 0.71%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
At 0.71%, Santa Clara County taxes property more lightly than the national 0.98%. Rate and bill part company here. The percentage is below national, the house is worth $1,382,800, and the bill lands at $9,766 anyway.
It ranks #24 of 56 California counties by effective rate, against a statewide 0.71%, and #1,713 nationally. The state runs from 0.91% in Kern County down to 0.54% in Trinity County.
The median home costs 8.66 times the median household income of $159,674, against 3.86 nationally, so housing absorbs an unusually large share of what people here earn. Renters pay 21.15% of median income in gross rent. With 1,903,297 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
| Santa Clara County | California | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 0.71% | 0.71% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $9,766 | $4,926 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $1,382,800 | $695,400 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $2,814 | $1,956 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $159,674 | $96,334 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 8.66× | 7.22× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 21.15% | 24.37% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 55.3% | 55.79% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 1,903,297.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | 0.76% | $8,061 | $1,057,400 |
| San Bernardino County | 0.70% | $3,346 | $475,000 |
| Sacramento County | 0.76% | $3,768 | $498,900 |
| Riverside County | 0.82% | $4,189 | $510,300 |
| Contra Costa County | 0.83% | $6,903 | $830,800 |
Santa Clara County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Santa Clara County, California?
The effective rate is 0.71% of home value, from a median tax bill of $9,766 against a median home value of $1,382,800. That is 0.27 points below the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Santa Clara County?
Roughly $2,840 a year at the county effective rate of 0.71%.
Is Santa Clara County expensive compared with the rest of California?
It ranks #24 of 56 California counties by effective property tax rate, and #1713 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0 points above the California average of 0.71%.
What does housing cost in Santa Clara County?
The median home is worth $1,382,800 and median gross rent is $2,814 a month. Median household income is $159,674, which puts the home at 8.66 times annual income and rent at 21.15% of it.