Florida’s homestead rules shape every purchase. A permanent resident who owns and lives in the home can claim the homestead exemption, which removes a set amount of value from most taxes, and the Save Our Homes amendment then caps how much the assessed value can rise each year. Over a long ownership the gap between market value and assessed value becomes large.
That gap belongs to the seller, not the house. When a home sells, the assessment resets to market value as of the next January, so a buyer’s first full bill can be far higher than the seller’s last one. Base your budget on the purchase price and the local millage, not on the tax shown in the listing. Owners moving from one Florida homestead to another can carry part of their accumulated savings with them under portability, provided they file in time.
Apply for the homestead exemption with the county property appraiser by the spring deadline after you move in. Non-homestead homes, including second homes and rentals, get a looser annual cap and no exemption.
Bills go out in the autumn, with a discount for paying early in November that shrinks month by month. At closing, Florida charges documentary stamp tax on the deed, usually paid by the seller, and on the promissory note, along with an intangible tax on the new mortgage, both usually paid by the buyer. Insurance deserves equal attention: windstorm and flood coverage can cost more than the tax, and some coastal buyers end up with Citizens, the state-backed insurer.
Property tax in Florida
The median Florida homeowner pays $2,730 a year in property tax on a home valued at $359,000, an effective rate of 0.7604% in the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS 5-year 2020-2024). That ranks the 24th lowest of the 50 states and DC, at or below the middle state's 0.8003%. At that rate each $100,000 of home value carries about $760 a year of tax, or $63.37 a month in the payment, and that rate is what the calculator above starts from.
Inside Florida the rate more than doubles from the cheapest county to the dearest. Among counties whose survey figures pass both quality checks, the effective rate runs from 0.4474% in Walton County to 0.9602% in Alachua County. On a $359,000 home that gap is worth about $1,841 a year. Pick a county in the calculator to use its rate, or type the rate from a listing or a current tax bill.
Florida property tax rates by county
All 67 counties, sorted from the highest effective rate to the lowest. The rate is the median tax paid divided by the median home value, from the ACS 5-year 2020-2024 survey (figures to December 31, 2024). Of these, one carries a flag: where the survey's margin of error is wide or home values hit the survey's top code, the calculator uses the Florida median instead of that county's figure.
| County | Effective rate | Median home value | Median tax a year | Survey | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alachua County | 0.9602% | $288,800 | $2,773 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Broward County | 0.9383% | $414,600 | $3,890 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| St. Lucie County | 0.9332% | $347,300 | $3,241 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Liberty County | 0.9049% | $127,300 | $1,152 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | Wide margin of error |
| Palm Beach County | 0.8625% | $447,300 | $3,858 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Glades County | 0.854% | $137,000 | $1,170 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Charlotte County | 0.8468% | $328,900 | $2,785 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| DeSoto County | 0.8311% | $174,100 | $1,447 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Madison County | 0.8305% | $116,200 | $965 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Hardee County | 0.8229% | $153,600 | $1,264 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Hillsborough County | 0.8102% | $371,500 | $3,010 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Miami-Dade County | 0.8086% | $463,000 | $3,744 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Hendry County | 0.8011% | $219,200 | $1,756 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Leon County | 0.7942% | $301,800 | $2,397 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Lee County | 0.7891% | $362,200 | $2,858 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Sumter County | 0.782% | $385,400 | $3,014 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Putnam County | 0.7792% | $160,300 | $1,249 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Manatee County | 0.7785% | $391,400 | $3,047 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Martin County | 0.7686% | $432,200 | $3,322 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Volusia County | 0.7652% | $313,000 | $2,395 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Flagler County | 0.7643% | $364,900 | $2,789 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Osceola County | 0.7642% | $353,300 | $2,700 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Lake County | 0.7641% | $318,400 | $2,433 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Orange County | 0.7606% | $390,100 | $2,967 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| St. Johns County | 0.7606% | $489,200 | $3,721 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Sarasota County | 0.7542% | $411,800 | $3,106 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Duval County | 0.746% | $303,500 | $2,264 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Marion County | 0.7429% | $243,100 | $1,806 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Okeechobee County | 0.7373% | $193,000 | $1,423 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Columbia County | 0.7358% | $194,900 | $1,434 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Hamilton County | 0.7338% | $111,200 | $816 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Pasco County | 0.7331% | $300,900 | $2,206 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Polk County | 0.7253% | $266,500 | $1,933 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Highlands County | 0.7201% | $187,900 | $1,353 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Clay County | 0.7171% | $312,500 | $2,241 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Suwannee County | 0.7069% | $171,600 | $1,213 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Nassau County | 0.7051% | $382,800 | $2,699 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Pinellas County | 0.6967% | $355,100 | $2,474 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Indian River County | 0.693% | $351,500 | $2,436 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Brevard County | 0.6805% | $339,600 | $2,311 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Hernando County | 0.6732% | $276,000 | $1,858 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Seminole County | 0.6717% | $386,900 | $2,599 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Taylor County | 0.6545% | $114,600 | $750 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Gilchrist County | 0.6513% | $199,900 | $1,302 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Wakulla County | 0.6357% | $258,300 | $1,642 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Baker County | 0.6354% | $256,700 | $1,631 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Franklin County | 0.6323% | $273,300 | $1,728 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Gulf County | 0.6312% | $250,000 | $1,578 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Levy County | 0.6301% | $190,600 | $1,201 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Collier County | 0.6262% | $540,700 | $3,386 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Jefferson County | 0.6187% | $232,600 | $1,439 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Dixie County | 0.6159% | $132,000 | $813 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Citrus County | 0.5825% | $245,500 | $1,430 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Bay County | 0.582% | $310,500 | $1,807 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Escambia County | 0.5813% | $257,200 | $1,495 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Union County | 0.5782% | $169,500 | $980 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Santa Rosa County | 0.5734% | $329,800 | $1,891 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Okaloosa County | 0.5726% | $351,200 | $2,011 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Lafayette County | 0.549% | $157,200 | $863 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Bradford County | 0.5478% | $212,500 | $1,164 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Holmes County | 0.5445% | $110,200 | $600 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Gadsden County | 0.53% | $174,900 | $927 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Monroe County | 0.529% | $780,600 | $4,129 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Calhoun County | 0.5052% | $145,300 | $734 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Jackson County | 0.5041% | $120,800 | $609 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Washington County | 0.4632% | $171,000 | $792 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
| Walton County | 0.4474% | $425,100 | $1,902 | ACS 5-year 2020-2024 | None |
Worked example: the median Florida home
The median owner-occupied home in Florida is valued at $359,000 (ACS 5-year 2020-2024). Put $71,800 down, enough to keep the loan at 80% of the price so no PMI is charged, and borrow the rest over 30 years at 7.4%, the Freddie Mac average for the week of October 15, 2026. Insurance is the calculator's default of $1,500 a year, the same figure on every state page and 5.3% of this payment; real premiums vary widely from state to state and with a home's exposure to wind, flood and wildfire, so replace it with a premium for the Florida home you are pricing.
| Line | A month | A year |
|---|---|---|
| Principal and interest | $1,988.51 | $23,862.12 |
| Property tax | $227.49 | $2,729.88 |
| Homeowners insurance | $125.00 | $1,500.00 |
| Private mortgage insurance | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total payment | $2,341.00 | $28,092.00 |
Principal and interest dominate the bill; tax and insurance, usually collected through escrow, add $352.49 a month, 15.1% of the total. Over the full term the $287,200 loan costs $428,670 in interest.
With $35,900 down instead, the loan grows to $323,100 and PMI of $134.63 a month is added, for a first payment of $2,724.20. On the regular schedule the PMI stops after 10 years, with the payment in October 2036. A 15-year loan at the 6.71% average, with the larger down payment, raises the monthly figure to $2,887.59 but cuts the interest to $169,117.
What the median Florida wage can buy
The median annual wage in Florida is $47,880 (BLS wage survey, May 2025). Paid every two weeks as a single filer, that leaves about $3,388 a month after federal and Florida paycheck deductions. With $60,000 saved for a down payment and $400 a month of other debts, the home affordability calculator's default 28/36 rule gives this range at 7.4% and the Florida property tax rate:
| Level | Home price | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $97,563 | $447 |
| Target | $175,565 | $1,036 |
| Stretch | $212,522 | $1,316 |
Here the limit is total debt: the housing payment plus the other $400 a month reaches 36% of gross pay first. The target falls $183,435 short of the $359,000 median home value: the median home costs 7.5 times the median wage, so a typical Florida purchase usually needs a second income, a larger down payment or a cheaper area.
Living costs add to the squeeze: everyday prices in Florida, rent included, run 3.4% above the national average, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parities for 2024 (figures to December 31, 2024). That shrinks the median wage to about $46,299 in national dollars.
Florida mortgage questions
What is the mortgage payment on the median home in Florida?
The median Florida home is valued at $359,000 in the Census Bureau's ACS 5-year 2020-2024 figures. With $71,800 down and a 30-year loan at the 7.4% weekly average, the payment is $2,341.00 a month: $1,988.51 of principal and interest, $227.49 of property tax and $125.00 of insurance.
What is the property tax rate in Florida?
Homeowners in Florida pay a median of $2,730 a year on a median home value of $359,000, an effective rate of 0.7604%. That is the 24th lowest of the 50 states and DC. It is a measure of what owners actually pay, not a rate set in law, and a new purchase can be taxed differently.
Which Florida county has the highest property tax rate?
Among counties with reliable survey figures, Alachua County has the highest effective rate at 0.9602% and Walton County the lowest at 0.4474%. On the $359,000 median home, that gap is about $1,841 a year.
How much house can I afford on the median Florida wage?
On the median wage of $47,880, take-home pay is about $3,388 a month. With $60,000 down and $400 a month of other debts, the 28/36 rule points to a home of about $175,565, against a median home value of $359,000.
Does a smaller down payment change the Florida payment much?
With $35,900 down on the same home the loan is larger and private mortgage insurance is added, so the payment starts at $2,724.20 a month, $134.63 of it PMI. The PMI stops once the scheduled balance reaches 78% of the original value.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS 5-year 2020-2024), tables B25103 and B25077
- Freddie Mac, 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States [MORTGAGE30US], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, removing PMI
Mortgage rates: Freddie Mac weekly averages as of . Property tax rates: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2020-2024 as of . Price levels: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 as of . How we calculate.