Property tax in Union County, South Carolina

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Union County, South Carolina is $579 a year, which is about 0.56% of the county's median home value of $103,600. 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 Union County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Union County's average effective rate of 0.56% (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: $580 / year

Property tax in Union County at a glance

Union County, South Carolina property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$579
Median home value	$103,600
Effective tax rate	0.56%
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 Union County compare in South Carolina?

Among South Carolina's 46 counties, Union County has the 16th highest effective property-tax rate: 15 rank higher and 30 rank lower. That is on the higher side for South Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2429th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Union County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Union County's 8,276 owner-occupied homes, 1.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 4.2% pay at least $2,000, and 53.4% pay under $800. Another 18.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Union County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	4,421	53.4%
$800 to $1,499	1,612	19.5%
$1,500 to $1,999	329	4%
$2,000 to $2,999	255	3.1%
$3,000 or more	91	1.1%
No property tax paid	1,568	18.9%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $730 and owners without one pay $476. 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 Union County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $579 is about 1.2% of the median income of Union County homeowner households, $49,352 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 71.3% of Union 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 Union County?

The survey cannot tell. The median bill was $535 in 2015-2019 and $579 in 2020-2024, but that $44 difference is inside the Census's own margin of error for a county this size, so it could be sampling noise rather than a real change.

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 Union County

Union County borders 7 counties.

Union County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Newberry County, SC	0.67%	$1,154	$173,300
Chester County, SC	0.56%	$890	$158,300
Union County, SC (this county)	0.56%	$579	$103,600
Spartanburg County, SC	0.55%	$1,274	$233,300
Fairfield County, SC	0.51%	$776	$151,200
York County, SC	0.48%	$1,740	$361,300
Cherokee County, SC	0.43%	$614	$142,000
Laurens County, SC	0.41%	$698	$170,600

How is a home assessed in Union County?

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

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

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

How to appeal your Union 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; Union 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 Union 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.