Property tax in York County, Pennsylvania
In York County, the property tax bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector (the York County Treasurer collects instead in the municipalities it lists). You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from York County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in York County, Pennsylvania is $4,006 a year, which is about 1.61% of the county's median home value of $248,600. That effective rate is higher 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 York County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector (the York County Treasurer collects instead in the municipalities it lists). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the York County Assessment & Tax Claim Office, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
In most of York County the county tax is collected by the elected tax collector of your township or borough, not by a county office, and your school district tax comes on a separate bill. The County Treasurer is the collector for a short list of municipalities, and in York City and Railroad Borough it collects only the county portion while the local collector handles the rest. 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 allows a penalty of up to 10% on a bill still unpaid four months after it; 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 pass to the county Tax Claim Bureau, which charges interest of 3/4 of 1% a month (9% a year) on the tax and penalty plus its own fees. The Treasurer accepts payments by postmark date, not the check date, and does not accept partial or postdated payments; card payments go through PayGOV.
When are property taxes due in York 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.
York 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 York County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at York County's average effective rate of 1.61% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $4,002 / year
Property tax in York County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $4,006 |
| Median home value | $248,600 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.61% |
| 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 York County compare in Pennsylvania?
Among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, York County has the 4th highest effective property-tax rate: 3 rank higher and 63 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 253rd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Pennsylvania county ranked.
How much do homeowners in York County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across York County's 138,624 owner-occupied homes, 66.2% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 78.5% pay at least $2,000, and 5% pay under $800. Another 2.3% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 6,907 | 5% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 13,045 | 9.4% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 6,685 | 4.8% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 16,992 | 12.3% |
| $3,000 or more | 91,804 | 66.2% |
| No property tax paid | 3,191 | 2.3% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $4,136 and owners without one pay $3,775. That is within 10% either way, so in York County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the York County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $4,006 is about 4.1% of the median income of York County homeowner households, $98,446 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 76.3% of York 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 York County?
Yes. The median bill went from $3,433 in 2015-2019 to $4,006 in 2020-2024, a 16.7% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 40.4%, from $177,100 to $248,600. 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 York County
York County borders 7 counties, 3 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| York County, PA (this county) | 1.61% | $4,006 | $248,600 |
| Dauphin County, PA | 1.35% | $3,198 | $236,400 |
| Adams County, PA | 1.33% | $3,561 | $268,500 |
| Lancaster County, PA | 1.32% | $3,975 | $301,100 |
| Cumberland County, PA | 1.17% | $3,254 | $277,600 |
| Baltimore County, MD | 1.07% | $3,736 | $349,300 |
| Carroll County, MD | 0.91% | $3,934 | $434,000 |
| Harford County, MD | 0.89% | $3,448 | $386,400 |
How is a home assessed in York County?
Pennsylvania sets the assessment rules and York County applies them. How Pennsylvania assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in York 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 York County. Pennsylvania's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Pennsylvania programs, York County runs its own:
- Volunteer Emergency Services Tax Refund Program: York County refunds part or all of the county real estate tax on the home of an active volunteer with an eligible fire company or nonprofit EMS agency, based on service points earned in the prior calendar year: emergency responders get 50% at 50 points and 100% at 100 points, and social or supporting members get 50% at 50 points. The application, with a receipt for the paid county tax, goes through the volunteer's fire company or EMS agency. Apply by March 31.
How to appeal your York County property assessment
In York County you appeal to the York County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: Annual appeals must be filed on the county's form and hand-delivered or postmarked on or before August 1; faxed appeals are not accepted. State law sets September 1 but lets the county choose a date as early as August 1, and York County uses August 1. August 1, 2027 is a Sunday and the Board's rules do not say whether a weekend deadline moves, so the last weekday before it is Friday, July 30, 2027. The Board hears appeals all year and encourages filing early. If you receive a notice of a mid-year (interim) assessment change, you have 40 days from the date of that notice to appeal it, with no fee. An annual appeal costs $25 per parcel for an owner-occupied home and $50 for other residential property, paid by check only and not refundable. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
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 York 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 York County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for York 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.