Worcester County, Massachusetts property tax
The median homeowner in Worcester County, Massachusetts pays $5,207 a year in property tax on a home worth $390,700, an effective rate of 1.33%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
At 1.33%, Worcester County taxes property more heavily than the country as a whole, which sits at 0.98%. A high rate applied to a home worth $390,700 is what makes the bill $5,207. Counties in this position usually fund schools locally and have little commercial or industrial base to spread the burden across.
It ranks #5 of 14 Massachusetts counties by effective rate, against a statewide 1.11%, and #541 nationally. The state runs from 1.57% in Hampden County down to 0.22% in Nantucket County.
The median home costs 4.18 times the median household income of $93,561, close to the national 3.86. Incomes here run above the national median, which is what keeps that ratio ordinary despite the house prices. With 861,664 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
| Worcester County | Massachusetts | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 1.33% | 1.11% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $5,207 | $5,813 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $390,700 | $525,800 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $1,347 | $1,687 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $93,561 | $101,341 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 4.18× | 5.19× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 17.28% | 19.98% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 65.67% | 62.6% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 861,664.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County | 1.07% | $6,267 | $584,000 |
| Suffolk County | 0.67% | $4,533 | $680,700 |
| Norfolk County | 1.09% | $7,081 | $649,400 |
| Bristol County | 1.11% | $4,685 | $421,800 |
| Plymouth County | 1.24% | $6,345 | $513,000 |
Worcester County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Worcester County, Massachusetts?
The effective rate is 1.33% of home value, from a median tax bill of $5,207 against a median home value of $390,700. That is 0.35 points above the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Worcester County?
Roughly $5,320 a year at the county effective rate of 1.33%.
Is Worcester County expensive compared with the rest of Massachusetts?
It ranks #5 of 14 Massachusetts counties by effective property tax rate, and #541 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.22 points above the Massachusetts average of 1.11%.
What does housing cost in Worcester County?
The median home is worth $390,700 and median gross rent is $1,347 a month. Median household income is $93,561, which puts the home at 4.18 times annual income and rent at 17.28% of it.