Norfolk County, Massachusetts property tax
The median homeowner in Norfolk County, Massachusetts pays $7,081 a year in property tax on a home worth $649,400, an effective rate of 1.09%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
Norfolk County taxes property at 1.09%, within a rounding error of the national 0.98%. That makes the $7,081 median bill mostly a statement about local house prices rather than about local tax policy.
It ranks #8 of 14 Massachusetts counties by effective rate, against a statewide 1.11%, and #860 nationally. The state runs from 1.57% in Hampden County down to 0.22% in Nantucket County.
The median home costs 5.13 times the median household income of $126,497, against 3.86 nationally, so housing absorbs an unusually large share of what people here earn. Renters pay 19.66% of median income in gross rent. At 724,540 residents the county is large enough that its median blends several distinct housing markets.
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
| Norfolk County | Massachusetts | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 1.09% | 1.11% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $7,081 | $5,813 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $649,400 | $525,800 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $2,072 | $1,687 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $126,497 | $101,341 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 5.13× | 5.19× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 19.66% | 19.98% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 68.52% | 62.6% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 724,540.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk County | 0.67% | $4,533 | $680,700 |
| Essex County | 1.07% | $6,267 | $584,000 |
| Worcester County | 1.33% | $5,207 | $390,700 |
| Bristol County | 1.11% | $4,685 | $421,800 |
| Plymouth County | 1.24% | $6,345 | $513,000 |
Norfolk County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Norfolk County, Massachusetts?
The effective rate is 1.09% of home value, from a median tax bill of $7,081 against a median home value of $649,400. That is 0.11 points above the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Norfolk County?
Roughly $4,360 a year at the county effective rate of 1.09%.
Is Norfolk County expensive compared with the rest of Massachusetts?
It ranks #8 of 14 Massachusetts counties by effective property tax rate, and #860 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.02 points below the Massachusetts average of 1.11%.
What does housing cost in Norfolk County?
The median home is worth $649,400 and median gross rent is $2,072 a month. Median household income is $126,497, which puts the home at 5.13 times annual income and rent at 19.66% of it.