Property tax in Marlboro County, South Carolina

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Marlboro County, South Carolina is $496 a year, which is about 0.6% of the county's median home value of $82,000. 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 Marlboro County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Marlboro County's average effective rate of 0.6% (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: $492 / year

Property tax in Marlboro County at a glance

Marlboro County, South Carolina property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$496
Median home value	$82,000
Effective tax rate	0.6%
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 Marlboro County compare in South Carolina?

Among South Carolina's 46 counties, Marlboro County has the 9th highest effective property-tax rate: 8 rank higher and 37 rank lower. That is on the higher side for South Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2276th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Marlboro County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Marlboro County's 6,166 owner-occupied homes, 1.5% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 2.8% pay at least $2,000, and 65.8% pay under $800. Another 12.4% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Marlboro County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	4,058	65.8%
$800 to $1,499	973	15.8%
$1,500 to $1,999	197	3.2%
$2,000 to $2,999	81	1.3%
$3,000 or more	91	1.5%
No property tax paid	766	12.4%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $758 and owners without one pay $432. 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 Marlboro County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $496 is about 1.1% of the median income of Marlboro County homeowner households, $44,462 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 63% of Marlboro 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 Marlboro County?

Yes. The median bill went from $381 in 2015-2019 to $496 in 2020-2024, a 30.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 21.5%, from $67,500 to $82,000. Bills rose faster than values, which usually means local rates went up or an exemption shrank.

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 Marlboro County

Marlboro County borders 8 counties, 4 of them across the state line.

Marlboro County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Scotland County, NC	0.93%	$1,068	$114,900
Richmond County, NC	0.89%	$1,138	$127,800
Robeson County, NC	0.87%	$820	$94,500
Anson County, NC	0.77%	$1,141	$148,600
Marlboro County, SC (this county)	0.6%	$496	$82,000
Dillon County, SC	0.53%	$452	$85,400
Chesterfield County, SC	0.42%	$487	$116,200
Florence County, SC	0.42%	$756	$177,900
Darlington County, SC	0.41%	$652	$158,200

How is a home assessed in Marlboro County?

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

Is there a homestead exemption in Marlboro 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 Marlboro County. South Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Marlboro 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. Marlboro County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Marlboro 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; Marlboro 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 Marlboro 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.