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California Property Tax Calculator,
know what you owe.
Enter your home value to instantly see your estimated annual and monthly California property tax — and why California's rate is lower than you'd expect for a high-cost, high-tax state.
Inputs
Your property
Effective rate
0.71%
State average
National rank
#34
of 51 (highest first)
Rates vary by county. This uses a statewide average effective rate. Your actual bill depends on your local levy, assessment ratio, and any exemptions you qualify for.
Estimate only. Contact your local tax assessor for your exact bill.
Annual property tax
$2,840/yr
California · 0.71% avg effective rate
Home value
$400,000
Monthly tax
$237
per month
Daily tax
$7.78
per day
State rank
#34 / 51
highest → lowest
Breakdown
How your tax breaks down
Annually
$2,840
/ year
Monthly
$236.67
/ month
Weekly
$54.62
/ week
Tax as % of home value
0.71%
National ranking
How California compares
| Rank | State | Avg rate |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | New Jersey | 2.23% |
| · · · | ||
| #32 | Montana | 0.76% |
| #33 | New Mexico | 0.76% |
| #34 | Californiayou | 0.71% |
| #35 | North Carolina | 0.70% |
| #36 | Arkansas | 0.62% |
| · · · | ||
| #51 | Hawaii | 0.27% |
Ranked highest (#1) to lowest (#51 incl. D.C.). Source: Tax Foundation / WalletHub 2024 average effective rates.
California property tax guide
How property tax works in California
California’s average effective property tax rate is 0.71% of a home’s market value — ranking #34 of 51 states (including D.C.), from highest to lowest. That average masks real county-by-county variation, but it’s the right starting point for budgeting what homeownership actually costs.
Why California's rate is lower than its reputation
California is famous for high taxes overall, but property tax is the exception — its average effective rate lands in the bottom third of states nationally. The reason is Proposition 13, passed in 1978: it caps the general property tax levy at 1% of assessed value, and — more importantly — limits how fast assessed value itself can grow to 2% per year (or the CPI, if lower), regardless of how much a home actually appreciates. Assessed value only resets to full market value when a property is sold or newly built.
The practical effect: a homeowner who bought decades ago can have an assessed value far below their home’s current market price, while a neighbor who bought last year pays close to the full 1% (plus local voter-approved additions) on a much higher assessed value. Averaged across every owner statewide — long-time and recent alike — that pulls the effective rate (tax paid ÷ today’s market value) down well below the 1% nominal cap. It’s the mirror image of California’s income tax, which is among the highest in the country — the state leans on income, not property, for revenue.
Worked example
A $750,000 home in California — a realistic figure for the state’s current median — comes out to $5,325 a year in property tax at the state average rate, or about $444 a month if it’s escrowed into a mortgage payment.
Disclaimer
This calculator uses California’s average effective property tax rate (taxes paid ÷ home market value), sourced from Tax Foundation and WalletHub 2024 data. Actual rates vary by county, city, and school district, and exemptions or assessment limitations you qualify for aren’t reflected here. For your actual tax liability, contact your local county assessor’s office.
California's rate reflects Proposition 13's 1% base-rate cap and 2%-per-year assessed-value growth limit; local bonds and parcel taxes can push individual bills above the pure 1% figure. For comparison, see Tax Foundation.