Pierce County, Washington property tax
The median homeowner in Pierce County, Washington pays $4,555 a year in property tax on a home worth $484,400, an effective rate of 0.94%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
Pierce County taxes property at 0.94%, within a rounding error of the national 0.98%. That makes the $4,555 median bill mostly a statement about local house prices rather than about local tax policy.
Inside Washington it is one of the most heavily taxed counties there is, ranking #1 of 36, against a statewide 0.84%. At the other end of the same state, San Juan County charges 0.57%. A spread that wide inside one state is normal, because school districts, not states, set most of the levy.
The median home costs 5.01 times the median household income of $96,632, against 3.86 nationally, so housing absorbs an unusually large share of what people here earn. Renters pay 21.38% of median income in gross rent. With 924,106 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
| Pierce County | Washington | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 0.94% | 0.84% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $4,555 | $4,361 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $484,400 | $519,800 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $1,722 | $1,682 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $96,632 | $94,952 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 5.01× | 5.47× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 21.38% | 21.26% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 64.79% | 63.89% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 924,106.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snohomish County | 0.79% | $5,121 | $644,600 |
| Spokane County | 0.86% | $3,196 | $370,500 |
| Clark County | 0.84% | $4,080 | $487,900 |
| Thurston County | 0.90% | $4,043 | $451,500 |
| Kitsap County | 0.80% | $4,030 | $505,700 |
Pierce County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Pierce County, Washington?
The effective rate is 0.94% of home value, from a median tax bill of $4,555 against a median home value of $484,400. That is 0.04 points below the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Pierce County?
Roughly $3,760 a year at the county effective rate of 0.94%.
Is Pierce County expensive compared with the rest of Washington?
It ranks #1 of 36 Washington counties by effective property tax rate, and #1172 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.1 points above the Washington average of 0.84%.
What does housing cost in Pierce County?
The median home is worth $484,400 and median gross rent is $1,722 a month. Median household income is $96,632, which puts the home at 5.01 times annual income and rent at 21.38% of it.