Property tax in Strafford County, New Hampshire

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Strafford County, New Hampshire is $6,708 a year, which is about 1.85% of the county's median home value of $362,800. That effective rate is higher than the typical New Hampshire county (1.79%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Strafford County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Strafford County's average effective rate of 1.85% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $6,712 / year

Property tax in Strafford County at a glance

Strafford County, New Hampshire property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$6,708
Median home value	$362,800
Effective tax rate	1.85%
Typical New Hampshire county rate	1.79%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Strafford County compare in New Hampshire?

Among New Hampshire's 10 counties, Strafford County has the 5th highest effective property-tax rate: 4 rank higher and 5 rank lower. That is near the middle for New Hampshire. Nationally, it ranks 128th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every New Hampshire county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Strafford County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Strafford County's 34,950 owner-occupied homes, 84% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 88.8% pay at least $2,000, and 2.6% pay under $800. Another 2.7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Strafford County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	906	2.6%
$800 to $1,499	1,234	3.5%
$1,500 to $1,999	836	2.4%
$2,000 to $2,999	1,689	4.8%
$3,000 or more	29,351	84%
No property tax paid	934	2.7%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $7,061 and owners without one pay $6,001. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

How does the Strafford County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $6,708 is about 5.8% of the median income of Strafford County homeowner households, $115,395 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 67.1% of Strafford County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Strafford County?

Yes. The median bill went from $5,747 in 2015-2019 to $6,708 in 2020-2024, a 16.7% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 53.8%, from $235,900 to $362,800. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Strafford County

Strafford County borders 5 counties, 1 of them across the state line.

Strafford County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Merrimack County, NH	1.85%	$6,783	$367,600
Strafford County, NH (this county)	1.85%	$6,708	$362,800
Rockingham County, NH	1.58%	$7,839	$497,500
Belknap County, NH	1.31%	$4,924	$374,900
Carroll County, NH	0.99%	$3,848	$388,900
York County, ME	0.96%	$3,787	$395,700

How is a home assessed in Strafford County?

New Hampshire sets the assessment rules and Strafford County applies them. How New Hampshire assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Strafford County?

No. New Hampshire has no across-the-board homestead exemption; its exemptions target specific groups, and most are local options your town must vote to offer. That is the New Hampshire rule, and it applies in Strafford County. New Hampshire's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Strafford County?

There is no single statewide due date, because the billing schedule is a local choice. Under the default in state law a town sends one annual bill and interest starts December 1. Most municipalities have instead voted to bill twice a year, with a July 1 payment computed from half the prior year's rate and the balance due December 1. A smaller group running a July to June fiscal year bills quarterly, due July 1, October 1, January 2 and March 31, so check your own tax collector.

That is the New Hampshire rule. Strafford County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Strafford County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the your local selectmen or assessors, then either the Board of Tax and Land Appeals or the county superior court. The filing deadline is typically March 1 following the notice of tax to apply to the town, then September 1 to appeal further. That is the New Hampshire rule; Strafford County sets the exact dates and forms. The New Hampshire appeal process step by step.

New Hampshire rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the New Hampshire page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Strafford County, New Hampshire: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.