Highest Property Tax in Texas: All 254 Counties Ranked (2026)
The same $350,000 home can owe very different tax bills depending on the Texas county. We ranked all 254 counties by rate and by what homeowners actually pay.
Key Takeaways:
- Why the highest rate isn't the biggest bill
- Why other lists name a different county
- Where the big metros land
Picture the same $350,000 home in two Texas counties. In one, the tax bill before exemptions is about $8,200 a year. In the other, it's closer to $3,200.
Where you live sets your rate. But the county with the highest rate isn't where homeowners pay the most.
By tax rate, Kleberg County has the highest property tax in Texas: an estimated 2.34% combined for 2025 (county, school and city). By effective rate, what homeowners actually pay as a share of home value, El Paso County is highest at 2.03%. The Texas average rate is about 1.70%.
Sources: Texas Comptroller 2025 Tax Rates and Levies; U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 (B25103, B25077). TaxDrop analysis.
Your county sets the rate. Your appraisal sets the bill, and you can protest it.
It's free to check, and you only pay if you save.
See Your Potential SavingsStart Your Protest βWhat you'll find below
Explore Texas property tax rates by county
Hover over (or tap) any county to see its rate and typical tax bill. Or search for yours.
Tax rate: est. combined county + school + city rate, 2025; rank 1 = highest (Texas Comptroller). Typical bill: median tax paid by homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024). Gray = no data or flagged figure. Orange outline = the 10 highest-rate counties.
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Which Texas counties have the highest property tax rates?
Kleberg tops the list at 2.34%, followed by Hale (2.31%) and Throckmorton (2.26%). 24 of 241 ranked counties top 2%.
The statewide average is about 1.70%, weighted by taxable value. The median county is about 1.62%.
Top 10 highest-rate counties
| Rank | County | Tax rate | Typical bill | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kleberg | 2.34% | $2,369 | 1.47% |
| 2 | Hale | 2.31% | $1,525 | 1.31% |
| 3 | Throckmorton | 2.26% | $1,148 | 1.28% |
| 4 | Brooks | 2.24% | $1,060 | 1.31% |
| 5 | Lipscomb | 2.23% | $1,748 | 1.41% |
| 6 | Terry | 2.23% | $1,779 | 1.69% |
| 7 | Jim Hogg | 2.18% | $1,258 | 0.97% |
| 8 | Wichita | 2.18% | $2,522 | 1.64% |
| 9 | El Paso | 2.15% | $3,660 | 2.03% |
| 10 | Tom Green | 2.14% | $2,532 | 1.29% |
Tax rate = estimated combined rate per $100 of value. Typical bill = Census median tax paid. Rank 1 = highest of 241 ranked counties.
See all 254 counties, highest to lowest
Why the highest rate isn't the biggest bill
Your bill is your taxable value times your rate. So home values matter as much as rates.
Kleberg has the top rate, but homeowners there report a typical bill of $2,369. In Travis County, where the rate ranks #63, the typical bill is $7,727. That's the highest in Texas.
What a $350,000 home would pay
- Kleberg County (2.34%): about $8,185 a year
- Texas average (1.70%): about $5,963 a year
- Glasscock County (0.92%): about $3,220 a year
These are before exemptions. The school district homestead exemption is $140,000 starting in 2025, which lowers all three.
Your county sets the rate. Your appraisal sets the bill, and you can protest it.
It's free to check, and you only pay if you save.
See Your Potential SavingsStart Your Protest βWhich counties have the highest effective tax rates?
The effective rate is what homeowners actually pay as a share of home value. It accounts for exemptions, so it's closer to a typical homeowner's experience.
By that measure, El Paso leads at 2.03%. Fort Bend ranks in the top 20 on both lists.
| # | County | Effective rate | Typical bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Paso | 2.03% | $3,660 | $180,400 |
| 2 | Menard | 1.95% | $2,111 | $108,500 |
| 3 | Mitchell | 1.86% | $1,599 | $85,800 |
| 4 | Fort Bend | 1.86% | $6,965 | $374,500 |
| 5 | Crosby | 1.83% | $1,480 | $80,900 |
| 6 | Hansford | 1.81% | $2,261 | $124,800 |
| 7 | Webb | 1.80% | $3,421 | $189,900 |
| 8 | Stonewall | 1.79% | $872 | $48,600 |
| 9 | Lynn | 1.77% | $2,604 | $147,300 |
| 10 | Bexar | 1.73% | $4,535 | $262,200 |
Why do lists of Texas's highest property taxes disagree?
They measure different things. This page ranks the tax rates local governments adopt. Other lists rank the effective rate from Census data, or total dollars paid.
Exemptions, the over-65 freeze and the 10% homestead cap pull effective rates down. The median Texas county's effective rate is 1.18%. Some lists also add MUDs or cover only big counties.
That's why one site says Kleberg and another says El Paso. Both can be right.
Where do Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio rank?
None of the big core counties make the top 25. Tarrant ranks #47. Fort Bend is the exception: at 2.08%, it's #17 statewide.
City rates per $100 (approximate)
City + same-named school district + county, 2025. Your address may fall in a different district or a MUD.
| Metro | Lowest city rates (city + ISD + county) | Highest city rates |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth | Highland Park 1.25; Keller 1.56; Rockwall 1.58 | Terrell 2.31; Burleson 2.26; Cleburne 2.21 |
| Houston | Galveston 1.57; Humble 1.74; Conroe 1.75 | Deer Park 2.24; La Porte 2.16; Alvin 2.14 |
| Austin | Round Rock 1.68; Dripping Springs 1.73; Lago Vista 1.81 | Manor 2.31; Taylor 2.06; Pflugerville 2.02 |
| San Antonio | Alamo Heights 1.63; New Braunfels 1.75 | San Antonio 2.00; Seguin 1.93 |
Which Texas counties raised or cut property tax rates in 2025?
Comparing 2025 with 2024 Comptroller files, 134 counties' estimated combined rates went down and 107 went up (flagged counties left out). Lower rates don't always mean lower bills, because values can rise.
Biggest increases:
- Hamilton: 1.36% β 1.68% (+0.33 pts)
- Starr: 1.87% β 2.11% (+0.25 pts)
- Sterling: 1.38% β 1.61% (+0.24 pts)
- Delta: 1.45% β 1.67% (+0.22 pts)
- Tom Green: 1.92% β 2.14% (+0.21 pts)
Biggest decreases:
- Cochran: 1.99% β 1.53% (-0.46 pts)
- San Augustine: 1.59% β 1.35% (-0.24 pts)
- King: 1.95% β 1.74% (-0.21 pts)
- Motley: 1.51% β 1.32% (-0.20 pts)
- Morris: 1.59% β 1.39% (-0.19 pts)
Looking for the other end of the list? See the lowest property tax rates in Texas.
You can't change your rate. You can protest your value.
Local taxing units set the rate. Your appraised value is what you can challenge. At 2.34%, every $10,000 off your value saves about $234 a year.
Savings Potential
92% of Texas protests TaxDrop closed in 2026 got a reduction (174 of 189 with usable values). The median client's taxable value dropped $10,736, about $236 a year in tax at a 2.2% rate. Results vary and a reduction is never guaranteed.
Source: TaxDrop 2026 Texas client data and methodology
How do you protest your property taxes in Texas?
- Watch for your Notice of Appraised Value. It usually arrives in April or May.
- File by the deadline. It's May 15 or 30 days after your notice was mailed, whichever is later. May 15, 2027 is a Saturday, so the 2027 deadline is Monday, May 17, 2027.
- Gather evidence. Comparable sales, photos of condition problems and repair estimates all help.
- Go to an informal review or an ARB hearing. The Appraisal Review Board (ARB) is the panel that hears protests.
- Still not satisfied? You can take it to binding arbitration or district court.
Full walkthrough: how to protest property taxes in Texas. Prefer to hand it off? A Texas property tax consultant can file and handle the hearing for you.
Use this data
Want city and school district detail? See our Texas property tax rates by county comparison.
Cite this data
Reporters and creators are welcome to use these figures and the map. Please credit "Source: TaxDrop analysis of Texas Comptroller public records" with a link to this page. Download the CSV (all 254 counties).
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See Your Potential SavingsStart Your Protest βMethodology, sources and data download
Methodology
Tax rate. We used the Texas Comptroller's 2025 Tax Rates and Levies files (county, school district and city), versions dated Jan. 28, 2026. These are the latest final rates and set the bills due by Jan. 31, 2026. For each county we added: the county's total rate; the school district rate averaged across every district in the county, weighted by taxable value; and city levies inside the county divided by the county's taxable value. Special districts (MUDs, hospital, college and emergency services districts) are excluded, so your address's real rate can be higher. The statewide average (1.70%) weights each county by taxable value. The simple average and median are both about 1.62%.
Data checks. We compared each county's reported 2025 county rate with 2024. We flagged and left out of the rate ranking counties where it moved more than 40% in a year or where a rate component appears to be entered twice: Baylor, Zavala, Irion, Jeff Davis, Reagan, Van Zandt, Callahan, Dawson, Willacy, Borden, Mason, Robertson. Culberson had no 2025 county rate. For example, the Comptroller file lists Willacy County at 1.2551 per $100 in 2025, up from 0.7833 in 2024. Willacy's own 2025 rate worksheet shows rates well below that. Willacy would otherwise top the list at 2.54%. That leaves 241 ranked counties. All 254 are in the CSV with a flag column.
Effective rate. Census ACS 5-year estimates (2020-2024): median real estate taxes paid (B25103) divided by median home value (B25077), owner-occupied homes. It's a ratio of two medians, not a true per-home rate, and small-county estimates have wide margins of error. 250 counties have both figures.
Rate change. Same method on the 2024 Comptroller files. Changes are in percentage points of the combined rate, for counties not flagged.
Metro city rates. City rate + the same-named school district + county rate, per $100, for cities with at least $2 billion in taxable value. This is an approximation. Many addresses in a city fall in a different school district or a MUD.
Sources
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Property Tax Assistance Division, Tax Rates and Levies: 2025 and 2024 County, School District and City Rates and Levies (XLSX), accessed Oct. 14, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, tables B25103 (median real estate taxes paid) and B25077 (median home value), ACS summary file.
- Willacy County, 2025 Tax Rate Calculation Worksheet (general fund), county website.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 cartographic boundary file (counties), for the map.
- TaxDrop 2026 Texas client data. See methodology.
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FAQs
What county in Texas has the highest property tax?
By tax rate, Kleberg County, at an estimated 2.34% combined in 2025 (county, school district and city, from Texas Comptroller data). By effective rate, what homeowners pay as a share of home value, El Paso County is highest at 2.03% (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Why do lists of Texas's highest property taxes disagree?
They measure different things. Some rank adopted tax rates (Kleberg is highest at 2.34%). Others rank effective rates from Census data, median tax paid divided by median home value (El Paso is highest at 2.03%). Others rank total dollars or include special districts like MUDs.
What is the average property tax rate in Texas?
About 1.70% when each county's 2025 combined rate is weighted by taxable value; the median county is about 1.62%. Effective rates are lower because of exemptions: the median Texas county is 1.18% (Census ACS 2020-2024). Special districts are not included.
Which Texas county has the highest property tax bill?
Travis County, where homeowners report a median of $7,727 a year (Census ACS 2020-2024). Its tax rate ranks only #63, but home values are the highest in Texas.
Can I lower my Texas property tax bill if my rate is high?
You can't protest the rate, since local taxing units set it. You can protest your appraised value with your appraisal district. The deadline is May 15 or 30 days after your notice is mailed, whichever is later. In 2027 that's Monday, May 17.
Ryder Meehan
Ryder Meehan is the Co-Founder of TaxDrop and a Licensed Property Tax Protest Consultant
