Property tax in Somerset County, Pennsylvania
In Somerset County, the property tax bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector. Taken from Somerset County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Somerset County, Pennsylvania is $1,477 a year, which is about 0.98% of the county's median home value of $150,600. That effective rate is lower than the typical Pennsylvania county (1.27%) 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.
Who sends the property tax bill in Somerset County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Somerset County Assessment Office, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong.
Somerset County does not collect current property taxes itself. Your township or borough's elected tax collector sends the bill and takes the payment, then passes the county's share to the County Treasurer; the county lists all 50 collectors. The county's pages do not list bill dates; they are printed on your bill. Pennsylvania law gives at least a 2% discount for paying the whole bill within two months of the bill date and adds a penalty on a bill unpaid four months after it, and the county's 2026 millage sheet shows a 10% penalty on the county tax. When a discount or face deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, a payment made or postmarked the next business day counts. Taxes unpaid by December 31 become delinquent and are turned over to the county Tax Claim Bureau, which holds an annual upset tax sale.
When are property taxes due in Somerset County?
Property tax is billed separately by your county, municipality and school district, and each sets its own due dates, discount and penalty periods. Pennsylvania has no uniform statewide due date.
Somerset County does not publish the due dates for its bill on its own pages (checked September 23, 2026), so we do not print any here. The dates on your statement are the ones that bind you; who sends which bill is covered above.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Somerset County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Somerset County's average effective rate of 0.98% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,476 / year
Property tax in Somerset County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,477 |
| Median home value | $150,600 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.98% |
| Typical Pennsylvania county rate | 1.27% |
| 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 Somerset County compare in Pennsylvania?
Among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Somerset County has the 63rd highest effective property-tax rate: 62 rank higher and 4 rank lower. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1183rd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Pennsylvania county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Somerset County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Somerset County's 23,594 owner-occupied homes, 17.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 35.1% pay at least $2,000, and 18.5% pay under $800. Another 1.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 4,366 | 18.5% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 7,422 | 31.5% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 3,061 | 13% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 4,176 | 17.7% |
| $3,000 or more | 4,111 | 17.4% |
| No property tax paid | 458 | 1.9% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,599 and owners without one pay $1,400. 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 Somerset County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,477 is about 2.1% of the median income of Somerset County homeowner households, $69,351 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 80.4% of Somerset 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 Somerset County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,296 in 2015-2019 to $1,477 in 2020-2024, a 14% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 40.7%, from $107,000 to $150,600. 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 Somerset County
Somerset County borders 6 counties, 2 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambria County, PA | 1.23% | $1,492 | $121,000 |
| Westmoreland County, PA | 1.23% | $2,501 | $203,500 |
| Fayette County, PA | 1.12% | $1,607 | $143,200 |
| Allegany County, MD | 1.06% | $1,636 | $154,900 |
| Somerset County, PA (this county) | 0.98% | $1,477 | $150,600 |
| Bedford County, PA | 0.81% | $1,444 | $179,000 |
| Garrett County, MD | 0.78% | $1,836 | $235,300 |
How is a home assessed in Somerset County?
Pennsylvania sets the assessment rules and Somerset County applies them. How Pennsylvania assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Somerset County?
Yes, but the amount varies. Pennsylvania's Homestead and Farmstead Exclusion lowers a home's assessed value for school tax, and each school district sets its own exclusion each year. That is the Pennsylvania rule, and it applies in Somerset County. Pennsylvania's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Somerset County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Pennsylvania ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Somerset County property assessment
In Somerset County you appeal to the Somerset County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: Annual appeals must be filed with the Assessment Office by September 1, and any change applies to the next tax year. September 1, 2027 is a Wednesday. If you receive a notice changing your assessment, you have 40 days from the date of that notice to appeal. The county warns that the dates are firm and a late appeal is denied, so allow time for mail. You will get at least 20 days' notice of your hearing. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against state law, because Somerset County does not restate them on its own pages.
How Pennsylvania's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Pennsylvania rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Pennsylvania page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Somerset County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Pennsylvania income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Pennsylvania actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Somerset County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Somerset County, Pennsylvania: 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.