Property tax in Barnwell County, South Carolina

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Barnwell County, South Carolina is $775 a year, which is about 0.73% of the county's median home value of $106,000. That effective rate is higher than the typical South Carolina county (0.51%) and lower 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 Barnwell County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Barnwell County's average effective rate of 0.73% (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: $774 / year

Property tax in Barnwell County at a glance

Barnwell County, South Carolina property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$775
Median home value	$106,000
Effective tax rate	0.73%
Typical South Carolina county rate	0.51%
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 Barnwell County compare in South Carolina?

Among South Carolina's 46 counties, Barnwell County has the 4th highest effective property-tax rate: 3 rank higher and 42 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1806th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Barnwell County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Barnwell County's 5,757 owner-occupied homes, 3% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 9.3% pay at least $2,000, and 46% pay under $800. Another 11% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Barnwell County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	2,651	46%
$800 to $1,499	1,520	26.4%
$1,500 to $1,999	420	7.3%
$2,000 to $2,999	364	6.3%
$3,000 or more	170	3%
No property tax paid	632	11%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,076 and owners without one pay $563. 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 Barnwell County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $775 is about 1.3% of the median income of Barnwell County homeowner households, $61,863 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 70.9% of Barnwell 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 Barnwell County?

Yes. The median bill went from $634 in 2015-2019 to $775 in 2020-2024, a 22.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 29.4%, from $81,900 to $106,000. 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 Barnwell County

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

Barnwell County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Allendale County, SC	0.88%	$669	$76,200
Bamberg County, SC	0.83%	$811	$97,800
Barnwell County, SC (this county)	0.73%	$775	$106,000
Burke County, GA	0.68%	$1,025	$151,600
Orangeburg County, SC	0.65%	$749	$115,800
Aiken County, SC	0.41%	$897	$218,000

How is a home assessed in Barnwell County?

South Carolina assesses homes at 4% of market value in every county, Barnwell County included. How South Carolina assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Barnwell County?

Not as a dollar amount. South Carolina owner-occupants get a 4% assessment ratio instead of 6% plus an exemption from school operating millage; apply for the 4% ratio with the county assessor. That is the South Carolina rule, and it applies in Barnwell County. South Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Barnwell County?

One annual payment. Bills go out around September 30 and the practical due date is January 15. Penalties then stack: 3% after January 16, another 7% after February 2, and another 5% after March 17. A county may by ordinance offer a five-payment installment plan, elected between December 1 and January 15, but that is a local option rather than a right.

That is the South Carolina rule. Barnwell County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Barnwell County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the County assessor, then the county Board of Assessment Appeals, then the Administrative Law Court. The filing deadline is typically 90 days after the assessment notice is mailed. That is the South Carolina rule; Barnwell County sets the exact dates and forms. The South Carolina appeal process step by step.

South Carolina rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the South Carolina page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Barnwell County, South Carolina: 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.