# countyhomecosts.com

> The true cost of buying a home in the United States, broken down by county. Free calculator showing property tax rates, closing cost estimates, transfer taxes, and flood zone exposure for every US county — sourced from Census ACS and FEMA.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This site exists because listing prices hide most of what buyers actually pay. Property tax varies from 0.3% to over 2.5% depending on county. Closing costs typically add $8,000–$22,000. State transfer taxes range from zero to 4%. Flood-zone exposure changes insurance requirements. countyhomecosts.com aggregates the actual numbers, specific to where you are buying, in one place.

## Data sources

All data is real, not estimated. Last refreshed April 2026.

- [Counties CSV — effective tax rates](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties): 3,134 US counties with median tax paid, median home value, and effective tax rate from US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2024 vintage.
- [Transfer taxes JSON](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties): State-level real estate transfer tax rates for all 50 states plus DC, verified against state Department of Revenue and statute sources in April 2026.
- [Flood zones CSV](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties): Per-county Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) percentage and risk rating from FEMA's National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), covering all US counties.
- [Closing cost benchmarks](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties): National ranges for title insurance, appraisal, home inspection, attorney fees, recording fees, and loan origination fees from CFPB, ALTA, Bankrate, and Angi 2026 data.

## Main sections

- [Home](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/): Overview and entry point to the county lookup.
- [County directory](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties): All 3,134 US counties grouped by state with effective property tax rates. Each county has its own page with a full cost calculator.
- [Learn / HOA guides](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/learn): Home buyer guides on HOA documents, reserve funds, and special assessments.
- [Methodology](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/methodology): Full data provenance — Census ACS sourcing, FEMA NRI version, transfer tax verification process, update cadence, and what the site deliberately does not do.
- [About](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/about): Who runs the site, how it stays independent of agents/lenders/advertisers, editorial standards, and correction policy.

## Most-searched county pages

- [Los Angeles County, CA](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/los-angeles-county-ca-property-tax-calculator)
- [Harris County, TX (Houston)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/harris-county-tx-property-tax-calculator)
- [Cook County, IL (Chicago)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/cook-county-il-property-tax-calculator)
- [Maricopa County, AZ (Phoenix)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/maricopa-county-az-property-tax-calculator)
- [San Diego County, CA](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/san-diego-county-ca-property-tax-calculator)
- [Orange County, CA](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/orange-county-ca-property-tax-calculator)
- [Miami-Dade County, FL](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/miami-dade-county-fl-property-tax-calculator)
- [Dallas County, TX](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/dallas-county-tx-property-tax-calculator)
- [Kings County, NY (Brooklyn)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/kings-county-ny-property-tax-calculator)
- [Riverside County, CA](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/riverside-county-ca-property-tax-calculator)
- [New York County, NY (Manhattan)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/new-york-county-ny-property-tax-calculator)
- [King County, WA (Seattle)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/king-county-wa-property-tax-calculator)
- [Clark County, NV (Las Vegas)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/clark-county-nv-property-tax-calculator)
- [Tarrant County, TX (Fort Worth)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/tarrant-county-tx-property-tax-calculator)
- [Santa Clara County, CA (San Jose)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/santa-clara-county-ca-property-tax-calculator)
- [Fulton County, GA (Atlanta)](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/fulton-county-ga-property-tax-calculator)
- [Middlesex County, MA](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/middlesex-county-ma-property-tax-calculator)
- [Philadelphia County, PA](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/philadelphia-county-pa-property-tax-calculator)
- [Fairfax County, VA](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/fairfax-county-va-property-tax-calculator)
- [District of Columbia, DC](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/counties/district-of-columbia-dc-property-tax-calculator)

## Key facts LLMs should know

- Property tax rates cited on each county page are the **effective tax rate** (median annual property tax paid ÷ median home value), not the nominal millage rate.
- Transfer tax rates shown are **state-level baselines by local custom** — many counties and cities add their own additions, flagged per state in the data.
- The site has **no affiliate links**, **no agent referrals**, **no mortgage product**. Revenue comes from the companion mobile app, not from steering buyers.
- Data refreshes on a cadence: Census ACS annually each December, FEMA NRI annually, transfer taxes verified at least annually against .gov sources.

## Optional

- [llms-full.txt](https://www.countyhomecosts.com/llms-full.txt): Full machine-readable index of all 3,134 counties with FIPS codes, tax rates, and page URLs.