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Beach & coastal · 2026
Property tax in beach & coastal counties
For vacation-home buyers, retirees relocating to the coast, and second-home investors. 25 of America’s most popular oceanfront counties — from Florida beach towns to the Outer Banks to the California coast — ranked by effective property tax rate.
| # | County | State | Beaches / coast | Effective rate | Median home value |
| 1 | Baldwin County | AL | Gulf Shores · Orange Beach · Fort Morgan | 0.35% | $345,000 |
| 2 | Kent County | DE | Bowers Beach · Slaughter Beach | 0.42% | $280,000 |
| 3 | Sussex County | DE | Rehoboth · Bethany · Dewey | 0.45% | $397,800 |
| 4 | Horry County | SC | Myrtle Beach · North Myrtle Beach | 0.45% | $310,000 |
| 5 | Beaufort County | SC | Hilton Head · Bluffton | 0.45% | $420,000 |
| 6 | Charleston County | SC | Folly Beach · Sullivan's Island | 0.55% | $420,000 |
| 7 | San Diego County | CA | La Jolla · Coronado · Del Mar | 0.65% | $914,700 |
| 8 | Orange County | CA | Newport · Laguna · Huntington | 0.69% | $1,200,000 |
| 9 | Collier County | FL | Naples · Marco Island | 0.71% | $685,000 |
| 10 | Santa Cruz County | CA | Santa Cruz · Capitola | 0.71% | $1,100,000 |
| 11 | San Luis Obispo County | CA | Pismo Beach · Morro Bay | 0.74% | $850,000 |
| 12 | Marin County | CA | Sausalito · Stinson · Bolinas | 0.81% | $1,450,000 |
| 13 | Sarasota County | FL | Siesta Key · Lido Key | 0.86% | $425,000 |
| 14 | Brevard County | FL | Cocoa Beach · Cape Canaveral | 0.89% | $315,000 |
| 15 | Pinellas County | FL | Clearwater · St. Pete Beach | 0.92% | $345,000 |
| 16 | Manatee County | FL | Anna Maria Island | 1.05% | $415,000 |
| 17 | Volusia County | FL | Daytona Beach · New Smyrna | 1.05% | $270,000 |
| 18 | Cape May County | NJ | Cape May · Wildwood · Stone Harbor | 1.06% | $460,000 |
| 19 | Monterey County | CA | Carmel · Big Sur · Monterey Bay | 1.10% | $770,000 |
| 20 | St. Lucie County | FL | Hutchinson Island · Treasure Coast | 1.16% | $345,000 |
| 21 | Monmouth County | NJ | Asbury Park · Belmar · Sea Bright | 1.48% | $674,100 |
| 22 | Ocean County | NJ | LBI · Seaside Heights · Point Pleasant | 1.70% | $364,500 |
| 23 | Nueces County | TX | Padre Island · Port Aransas | 1.81% | $215,000 |
| 24 | Cameron County | TX | South Padre Island · Brownsville | 1.85% | $165,000 |
| 25 | Galveston County | TX | Galveston Island · Crystal Beach | 2.01% | $280,000 |
The vacation-home tax problem
Beach properties pay disproportionately into local tax bases. Most coastal counties have substantial year-round populations that need municipal services (schools, roads, fire, EMS, beach renourishment), but population swells 5-20x during summer — and second-home owners who only visit a few weeks a year still need their pipes drained, beach access maintained, and storm response on standby.
The structural result: second-home owners typically pay full effective rates without homestead exemptions. A Florida vacation home pays the full 1%+ rate; a primary residence in the same county would benefit from the $50K homestead exemption + Save Our Homes 3% AV cap. On a $500K beach condo, that’s easily $1,500-2,500/year extra for non-homestead status.
For deeper analysis: browse Florida counties, California coastal, or compare any two counties directly.
About this site's data and estimates. The Property Tax Almanac is an independent editorial reference. It is not affiliated with any government agency, tax assessor, or tax preparation service. The calculators and data on this site are informational and are not a substitute for advice from a qualified tax professional, attorney, or your official county assessor or appraisal district.
Accuracy, sources, and scope. Tax rate data is compiled from publicly available sources — including the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, the Illinois Department of Revenue, the Florida Department of Revenue, the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, the Arizona Department of Revenue, the North Carolina Department of Revenue, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, the Michigan Department of Treasury, the Iowa Department of Revenue and Iowa Department of Management, the Minnesota Department of Revenue, the California State Board of Equalization, individual county appraisal and assessor offices, and the US Census Bureau — and is believed to be accurate as of the "revised" date shown on each page. Rates change annually (and sometimes mid-year) through local budget adoptions, legislative action, and voter-approved measures. Rates displayed reflect the primary tax district of the county seat; rates in other cities, school districts, Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), Emergency Services Districts (ESDs), Mello-Roos Community Facilities Districts (CFDs), and special taxing units within the same county may be meaningfully higher or lower. Census population figures are from the 2020 Decennial Census and are rounded to the nearest 100.
How to use these estimates. The calculator produces a rough estimate based on the county seat's combined rate, statutory deductions and exemptions available statewide, and the value you enter. Your actual bill depends on your specific parcel's assessed or appraised value, the exact taxing entities covering your address, any local-option exemptions you qualify for, any assessment caps or circuit-breaker protections (e.g., Florida's Save Our Homes, Arizona's Prop 117 LPV cap, Indiana's 1% circuit breaker, North Carolina's Elderly/Disabled Exclusion, Wisconsin's Lottery & Gaming Credit, Michigan's Proposal A 5%/IRM cap, Iowa's residential rollback, Minnesota's Homestead Market Value Exclusion, California's Proposition 13 acquisition-value system and 2% annual cap), and any appeal or protest outcomes. For an authoritative figure, consult your county appraisal district (Texas), county assessor (Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Arizona, North Carolina, Iowa, Minnesota, California), county property appraiser (Florida), or municipal/township assessor (Wisconsin and Michigan — assessments are set at the city/village/township level rather than the county level; some Iowa and Minnesota cities also have city-level assessors). The contact information for the primary authority in each county is listed at the top of that county's page.
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