Overview of Oregon Taxes
Oregon has property tax rates that are nearly in line with national averages. The effective property tax rate in Oregon is 0.82%, while the U.S. average currently stands at 0.99%. However, specific tax rates can vary drastically depending on the county in which you settle down.
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To calculate the exact amount of property tax you will owe requires your property's assessed value and the property tax rates based on your property's address. Please note that we can only estimate your property tax based on median property taxes in your area. There are typically multiple rates in a given area, because your state, county, local schools and emergency responders each receive funding partly through these taxes. In our calculator, we take your home value and multiply that by your county's effective property tax rate. This is equal to the median property tax paid as a percentage of the median home value in your county.
Oregon Property Tax
Property taxes in Oregon are limited by two laws passed during the 1990s: Measure 5 and Measure 50. Combined, these two measures put caps on both the total effective tax rate that can be applied to any individual property as well as the growth in assessed values, on which taxes are based.
Thanks to these limits, Oregon now has property taxes that are just under the 0.99% national average. More specifically, Oregon's average effective property tax rate is 0.82%. Homeowners in Oregon also enjoy a large amount of consistency in the amount of taxes they pay from one year to the next.
If you’re thinking about purchasing a home in the Beaver State or are looking to refinance a property there, check out our Oregon mortgage guide for details about getting a mortgage.
A financial advisor can help you understand how homeownership fits into your overall financial goals. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
How Oregon Property Taxes Work
As in many states, local assessors in Oregon annually appraise properties to determine their fair market value. However, taxes in Oregon do not necessarily apply only to market value. Instead, they apply either to the market value or the maximum assessed value, whichever is lower.
The most important aspect of the maximum assessed value is that so long as it is less than market value (which it usually is), it is limited to 3% annual growth. That means that even when home values are skyrocketing, property taxes should remain relatively stable.
If market value falls below maximum assessed value, the maximum assessed value may freeze or increase by less than 3%. So, for example, if market value and maximum assessed value are both $100,000, and market value increases by 2%, then both market value and maximum assessed value will be $102,000 the following year. On the other hand, if market value increases by 10%, the maximum assessed value will be $103,000 (a 3% increase) while market value will be $110,000.
Oregon Property Tax Rates
Just as Oregon limits the value to which tax rates apply, the state also limits tax rates. For any single property, total school district taxes cannot be more than $5 per $1,000 in market value and total general government taxes cannot be more than $10 per $1,000 in market value. (The limits do not apply to bond levies, which voters must approve.)
Thus, in practice, effective tax rates (annual taxes as a percentage of home value) in Oregon are limited to 1.5% ($15 of tax per $1,000 of property value), plus any bond levies. If rates on any property exceed that amount, tax rates on that property are lowered (or “compressed”) until the total rates no longer exceed the limits. If the taxes on a property are up against that limit (or “in compression”), taxes on that property cannot increase, even if everyone else's taxes increase.
The table below shows the average effective tax rate for every county in Oregon. Average effective tax rates are calculated as median annual property tax as a percentage of median home value.
Looking to calculate your potential monthly mortgage payment? Check out our mortgage calculator.
Multnomah County
Oregon’s Multnomah County, which encompasses most of the city of Portland, has property taxes near the state average. The county’s average effective tax rate is 1.11%. If you were to apply that rate to the county's $410,800 median home value, you'd come up with an annual property tax bill of about $4,575.
If you have questions about how property taxes can affect your overall financial plans, a financial advisor in Portland can help you out.
Washington County
Effective tax rates in Washington County are roughly equal to those in neighboring Multnomah County. The Washington County average effective tax rate is 1.08%. At that rate, a home valued at $413,500 (near the median home value in the county) would have annual taxes of $4,465.
Clackamas County
Clackamas County stretches from southern Portland suburbs to Mt. Hood and the Cascade Mountains. It is a largely suburban and rural county. The largest city here is Lake Oswego, which has a population of about 40,000. The median annual property tax homeowners in Clackamas County pay is $4,590, the highest in the state.
Lane County
Western Oregon’s Lane County is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Willamette National Forest. About half of the county’s population resides in the city of Eugene, which is home to the main campus of the University of Oregon.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median home value in Lane County is $280,000, which is moderately lower than the $422,700 state median. The average effective tax rate in Lane County is 1.11%, which equates to a median annual property tax bill of $3,106.
Marion County
Marion County has among the highest effective property tax rates in Oregon. The county’s average effective tax rate is 1.15%, sixth-highest in the state. The typical homeowner here will pay about $3,115 a year towards property taxes.
Jackson County
Situated along the California border in Southern Oregon, Jackson County has property tax rates in the bottom half of all Oregon counties. Jackson County’s average effective tax rate is 0.97%. That ranks as the 16th-highestin the state.
Deschutes County
Deschutes County is located in central Oregon, east of the Cascade Crest. The largest city in Deschutes is Bend, which sits along the Deschutes River. The median property taxes paid by homeowners in Deschutes County is $3,390, which is the fifth-highest amount in the state.
Linn County
This western Oregon county has the second-highest average effective property tax rate in the state. Linn County’s average effective property tax rate is 1.21%. At that rate, taxes on a home worth $240,200 (the county median) would be $2,904 a year.
Douglas County
Based on population statistics, Douglas County is ninth largest county in Oregon. The average effective property tax rate in Douglas County is 0.79%. That is the seventh-lowest rate in the state, and far lower than rates in Oregon’s other most populous counties.
Yamhill County
Located southwest of Portland, Yamhill County has effective property tax rates somewhat lower than other counties in the Portland area. The median property tax paid by homeowners in Yamhill County is $3,159 per year. That’s about $1,400 less than in Multnomah County, the most populous area in Oregon.
Property Tax: Which Counties are Getting the Best Bang for Their Buck
SmartAsset’s interactive map highlights the places across the country where property tax dollars are being spent most effectively. Zoom between states and the national map to see the counties getting the biggest bang for their property tax buck.
Methodology
Our study aims to find the places in the United States where people are getting the most for their property tax dollars. To do this we looked at school rankings, crime rates and property taxes for every county.
As a way to measure the quality of schools, we calculated the average math and reading/language arts proficiencies for all the school districts in the country. Within each state, these schools were then ranked between 1 and 10 (with 10 being the best) based on those average scores.
For each county, we calculated the violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents.
Using the school and crime numbers, we calculated a community score. This is the ratio of the school rank to the combined crime rate per 100,000 residents.
We used the number of households, median home value and average property tax rate to calculate a per capita property tax collected for each county.
Finally, we calculated a tax value by creating a ratio of the community score to the per capita property tax paid. This shows us the counties in the country where people are getting the most bang for their buck, or where their property tax dollars are going the furthest.
Sources: US Census Bureau 2014 American Community Survey, Department of Education, Federal Bureau of Investigation, State Police or Justice Department websites
