South Carolina property tax by county
The median South Carolina homeowner pays $1,199 a year in property tax on a home worth $236,700, an effective rate of 0.51%. That ranks South Carolina #47 of 51 states, against a national 0.98%.
Why the county matters more than the state
Allendale County charges an effective 0.88% and Horry County 0.34%, a spread of 0.54 points inside one state. Property tax in the United States is set by counties, cities, school districts and special districts, not by states. A statewide figure is a weighted average of thousands of separate decisions, and it can be a poor guide to any particular address.
South Carolina sits 0.47 points below the national effective rate. A low rate is not the same as a low bill: on an expensive home it can still produce a large one. House prices in the state moved +2.3% over the year to 2026 Q2, which changes the denominator of this rate over time.
Every county ranked
| # | County | Rate | Median bill | Home value | Rent | Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allendale County | 0.88% | $542 | $61,600 | $691 | $31,603 |
| 2 | Bamberg County | 0.83% | $796 | $96,000 | $794 | $43,206 |
| 3 | Hampton County | 0.81% | $826 | $102,400 | $815 | $43,059 |
| 4 | Barnwell County | 0.74% | $717 | $97,200 | $695 | $41,800 |
| 5 | Richland County | 0.70% | $1,569 | $224,200 | $1,185 | $61,699 |
| 6 | Newberry County | 0.69% | $1,090 | $158,200 | $854 | $59,670 |
| 7 | Orangeburg County | 0.66% | $724 | $109,700 | $804 | $43,214 |
| 8 | Williamsburg County | 0.66% | $630 | $95,100 | $769 | $43,471 |
| 9 | Marlboro County | 0.64% | $475 | $74,500 | $686 | $36,293 |
| 10 | McCormick County | 0.64% | $1,014 | $159,000 | $666 | $55,344 |
| 11 | Colleton County | 0.61% | $883 | $145,900 | $905 | $48,779 |
| 12 | Chester County | 0.59% | $846 | $143,800 | $918 | $51,216 |
| 13 | Dorchester County | 0.58% | $1,710 | $294,400 | $1,381 | $76,896 |
| 14 | Greenwood County | 0.58% | $973 | $166,400 | $880 | $50,635 |
| 15 | Clarendon County | 0.58% | $848 | $147,300 | $728 | $48,887 |
| 16 | Saluda County | 0.57% | $700 | $123,200 | $814 | $52,957 |
| 17 | Lee County | 0.57% | $579 | $101,900 | $806 | $44,145 |
| 18 | Spartanburg County | 0.56% | $1,217 | $216,000 | $1,019 | $64,195 |
| 19 | Union County | 0.56% | $558 | $100,000 | $770 | $41,200 |
| 20 | Jasper County | 0.55% | $1,490 | $269,400 | $1,307 | $63,503 |
| 21 | Sumter County | 0.54% | $860 | $159,500 | $1,006 | $55,990 |
| 22 | Greenville County | 0.53% | $1,445 | $273,900 | $1,198 | $74,624 |
| 23 | Fairfield County | 0.53% | $683 | $129,100 | $910 | $46,972 |
| 24 | Lexington County | 0.52% | $1,136 | $217,700 | $1,115 | $75,014 |
| 25 | York County | 0.50% | $1,602 | $322,700 | $1,304 | $83,060 |
| 26 | Beaufort County | 0.50% | $2,022 | $407,600 | $1,484 | $84,819 |
| 27 | Lancaster County | 0.50% | $1,487 | $298,100 | $892 | $74,751 |
| 28 | Dillon County | 0.50% | $425 | $84,400 | $692 | $44,038 |
| 29 | Kershaw County | 0.49% | $937 | $191,900 | $872 | $64,343 |
| 30 | Abbeville County | 0.49% | $717 | $147,200 | $634 | $52,112 |
| 31 | Berkeley County | 0.48% | $1,343 | $280,300 | $1,518 | $82,327 |
| 32 | Anderson County | 0.46% | $985 | $212,500 | $952 | $64,683 |
| 33 | Chesterfield County | 0.46% | $468 | $101,400 | $776 | $47,620 |
| 34 | Marion County | 0.46% | $397 | $86,800 | $663 | $34,501 |
| 35 | Edgefield County | 0.45% | $877 | $194,300 | $854 | $67,092 |
| 36 | Florence County | 0.44% | $724 | $165,500 | $908 | $56,650 |
| 37 | Laurens County | 0.44% | $673 | $153,500 | $847 | $55,517 |
| 38 | Cherokee County | 0.44% | $590 | $135,200 | $813 | $49,047 |
| 39 | Aiken County | 0.43% | $862 | $199,500 | $1,031 | $67,940 |
| 40 | Georgetown County | 0.43% | $1,117 | $262,300 | $1,166 | $66,734 |
| 41 | Darlington County | 0.43% | $604 | $141,400 | $876 | $47,419 |
| 42 | Calhoun County | 0.42% | $630 | $148,800 | $994 | $56,690 |
| 43 | Charleston County | 0.41% | $1,864 | $450,800 | $1,506 | $84,320 |
| 44 | Oconee County | 0.39% | $856 | $217,200 | $876 | $60,193 |
| 45 | Pickens County | 0.38% | $821 | $216,000 | $936 | $59,411 |
| 46 | Horry County | 0.34% | $879 | $260,500 | $1,181 | $64,623 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. The effective property tax rate is median taxes paid divided by median home value. The two medians come from different distributions, so it approximates the typical rate rather than describing any one household.