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Oregon property tax has an unusual logic: your bill is driven by a capped assessed value, not your purchase price, and the effective rate varies by county and tax district. Here’s the county-by-county picture for the five counties spanning the Portland-to-Salem 55+ market.
Before comparing counties, understand the mechanism. Under Measure 50, every Oregon home has a Maximum Assessed Value (MAV) that can grow no more than 3% per year, and your taxes are calculated on the lower of MAV or Real Market Value. Crucially, the assessed value does not reset to your purchase price when you buy — so an older home often carries an assessed value well below its market value, and that gap passes to you. This is the opposite of how California and many other states work. Full mechanics on the Measure 50 guide.
What this means in practice: two identical-looking homes can have very different tax bills depending on each one’s assessed-value history. An older Summerfield resale may be taxed on an assessed value far below its sale price; a new Eden Gleann build starts with its MAV near market value. Always pull the specific property’s assessed value from the county assessor — never estimate property tax from the asking price.
| County | Approx. effective rate | Our communities |
|---|---|---|
| Multnomah | ~1.08% | Summerplace |
| Washington | ~0.84% | Summerfield, King City, Highlands, Claremont |
| Clackamas | ~0.95% | None covered |
| Marion | ~0.95–1.0% | Woodburn Estates, part of Salemtowne |
| Polk | ~0.95–1.05% | Ceres Gleann, Eden Gleann, part of Salemtowne |
Highest effective rate of the five, plus the Preschool for All local income tax. Only Summerplace (NE Portland) sits here — every other community we cover is in a lower-tax county.
The lowest effective rate among the Portland-suburb counties — a quiet advantage at higher home values.
Sits between Washington and Multnomah; parts fall inside the Metro SHS district. No covered communities, but relevant if you broaden your search.
Salem and Woodburn sit here. Rates vary by tax district within the county.
Dallas and West Salem. Slightly higher than Washington County; confirm the specific district.
The Washington County edge: at the higher home values typical of the Portland suburbs, Washington County’s lower effective rate (~0.84%) compounds into real money versus Marion or Polk. But the corridor communities’ lower home prices often more than offset their slightly higher rate — a 1.0% rate on a $280K Woodburn home is a smaller bill than 0.84% on a $480K Tigard home. Rate and price have to be read together.
West Salem straddles the Polk/Marion county boundary, so a Salemtowne home’s county — and therefore its exact rate and tax districts — depends on which side of the line it sits. This is a real, checkable difference; confirm the county on any specific Salemtowne listing before estimating its tax.
Send us the address or listing and we’ll pull the assessed value and the right county/district rate for a real number.
Get an exact property-tax estimateEffective rates are approximate county-level figures that vary by tax district and year; Oregon bills are based on capped assessed value, not market price. Verify with the county assessor for any specific property. Not tax advice.