Essex property tax rate 2025
Town in Essex · population 21,216 · 8,390 households
Last updated October 30, 2026; data vintage 2025 (Financial Information Return) and 2021 (Census). How these numbers are made.
In 2025, Essex collected $30,184,774 in residential property taxes on $1,801,069,717 of taxable residential assessment. That works out to an effective rate of 1.676%, 0.319 points above the Ontario median of 1.357% for 2024. Among the 391 lower- and single-tier municipalities that filed for 2024, Essex ranks 284th lowest and 4th of 7 within Essex. The 2025 figure is from a return filed ahead of most municipalities, so the provincial ranking still uses 2024.
Where the tax goes
| Municipal (Essex) | 0.963% | 57% of the bill |
|---|---|---|
| Essex | 0.560% | 33% |
| Education (Province of Ontario) | 0.153% | 9% |
| Total residential rate | 1.676% | 100% |
Municipal Regional / county Education
Understanding your Essex tax bill
Who sends the bill
Essex is a lower-tier town in Essex County, so its residential bill has three parts: Essex's own levy of 0.963%, the county levy of 0.560% set by Essex County, and the provincial education levy of 0.153%. Of every $100 of residential tax in 2025, about $57 stayed with Essex, $33 went to Essex County and $9 went to school boards through the province. Essex's own share is the larger municipal piece here; the county levy typically pays for county roads, paramedics, social services and long-term care, while Essex's levy typically covers local roads, fire, water and sewer, waste collection and recreation.
How the rate compares
Among the 391 Ontario municipalities ranked for 2024, Essex's 1.608% is the 284th lowest, with about 27% of municipalities charging more. That is 0.251 points above the provincial median of 1.357%, or about $1,255 a year more on a $500,000 assessment. Within Essex County it ranks 4th lowest of 7, between Tecumseh at 1.534% and Amherstburg at 1.775%: on a $750,000 assessment that is about $554 more than Tecumseh and $1,251 less than Amherstburg.
What moved the rate
From 2016 to 2025 Essex's residential rate rose 0.176 points, from 1.500% to 1.676%, while residential taxes collected grew 41% and the taxable residential assessment base grew 26%. The levy outpaced assessment growth by 15 points over 9 years, so the rate did the work and a Essex owner whose assessment never changed still saw the bill rise.
Assessed value is a 2016 number
Ontario has not updated assessments since the 2016 valuation date, so the value behind Essex's 1.676% is a 2016 figure, not today's price. In the 2021 Census, owners in Essex put the median value of their home at $400,000, while the 2025 return works out to about $215,000 of taxable residential assessment per household. A buyer paying around $400,000 should not multiply it by 1.676%: that would suggest $6,704 a year, whereas at the average assessment the same rate gives about $3,603. Buying a home in Essex does not reset its assessment; MPAC changes it only for new construction, renovations, or a successful reconsideration or appeal.
Instalments
Essex bills the way most Ontario municipalities do: an interim bill with two instalments early in the year, then a final bill with two more once the 2025 rate was set. Essex's interim bill arrives before council approves the 2025 rate, so it is based on the previous year's taxes and may not exceed 50% of them.
Commercial versus residential
Commercial property in Essex paid 2.528% in 2025, 1.51 times the residential rate; part of the gap is the provincial business education tax, which is set higher than the residential education rate. Commercial and industrial property made up 8.1% of Essex's taxable assessment but paid 14.5% of all property taxes levied, so business carries a share of the levy well beyond its share of the base.
Every figure in this section is taken from Essex's Financial Information Returns and the 2021 Census and is checked against the source data when the page is built; the wording follows fixed rules rather than opinion. Service descriptions are general to Ontario municipalities of this type and may differ in detail here.
Estimate your Essex property tax
| Assessed value | Municipal | Region / county | Education | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $4,816 | $2,799 | $765 | $8,380 |
| $750,000 | $7,225 | $4,198 | $1,147 | $12,570 |
| $1,000,000 | $9,633 | $5,597 | $1,529 | $16,759 |
Use the MPAC assessed value from your assessment notice, not the market value (see why). Estimates exclude local improvement charges, business improvement area levies and any rebates.
Rate trend 2016–2025
Essex's residential rate rose from 1.500% in 2016 to 1.676% in 2025; the section above separates rate changes from assessment growth.
Year-by-year table
| Year | Residential rate | Municipal | Region / county | Education | Residential taxes levied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.500% | 0.851% | 0.461% | 0.188% | $21,407,713 |
| 2017 | 1.527% | 0.880% | 0.469% | 0.179% | $22,220,046 |
| 2018 | 1.487% | 0.871% | 0.454% | 0.162% | $23,386,194 |
| 2019 | 1.441% | 0.813% | 0.471% | 0.157% | $22,995,738 |
| 2020 | 1.471% | 0.832% | 0.486% | 0.153% | $23,900,951 |
| 2021 | 1.474% | 0.832% | 0.489% | 0.153% | $24,331,621 |
| 2022 | 1.497% | 0.848% | 0.496% | 0.153% | $25,368,288 |
| 2023 | 1.540% | 0.872% | 0.515% | 0.153% | $26,578,533 |
| 2024 | 1.608% | 0.915% | 0.540% | 0.153% | $28,474,266 |
| 2025 | 1.676% | 0.963% | 0.560% | 0.153% | $30,184,774 |
Instalments and due dates (2025)
Essex reported 4 residential instalments in 2025, with due dates including February 28, 2025, April 30, 2025, July 31, 2025, October 31, 2025. Dates shift each year; check the municipal website for the current schedule.
All property classes, 2025
| Property class | Effective rate | Taxable assessment | Taxes levied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | 1.676% | $1,801,069,717 | $30,184,774 |
| Multi-residential | 1.868% | $19,215,400 | $358,924 |
| Farmland | 0.412% | $352,841,475 | $1,454,325 |
| Managed forests | 0.412% | $3,783,200 | $15,593 |
| Commercial | 2.528% | $149,628,198 | $3,783,320 |
| Shopping centre | 2.568% | $910,500 | $23,385 |
| Parking lot | 1.543% | $221,500 | $3,417 |
| Industrial | 3.849% | $24,253,100 | $933,463 |
| Large industrial | 5.007% | $17,833,000 | $892,893 |
| Pipelines | 2.855% | $10,923,000 | $311,819 |
Commercial and industrial rates include the provincial business education tax. Rates for small classes can swing year to year because a few properties dominate them.
Compare within Essex (2024)
| Municipality | Residential rate | Tax on $750,000 | Ontario rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex | 1.608% | $12,061 | 284 |
| Amherstburg | 1.775% | $13,312 | 320 |
| Kingsville | 1.519% | $11,390 | 262 |
| Lakeshore | 1.376% | $10,322 | 205 |
| LaSalle | 1.801% | $13,504 | 325 |
| Leamington | 1.946% | $14,597 | 350 |
| Tecumseh | 1.534% | $11,507 | 264 |
Who lives here
From the 2021 Census of Population (Statistics Canada). Counts are randomly rounded to a multiple of 5 by Statistics Canada, so small differences between totals are normal.
Residents by age group
Under 15 15 to 64 65 and over
Essex had 21,216 residents in the 2021 Census, up 3.9% from 20,427 in 2016. The median age was 46.8, older than Ontario's 41.6; 15.3% of residents were under 15 and 21.9% were 65 or older. Median household income in 2020 was $87,000, below the Ontario median of $91,000. Immigrants made up 8.7% of the population (Ontario: 30.0%), and 0.3% of residents had arrived between 2016 and 2021. After English, the most common mother tongues were French (1.7%), Portuguese (1.3%) and German (0.7%).
| Private dwellings occupied by usual residents | 8,391 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 2.5 persons |
| Age 0 to 14 · 15 to 64 · 65 and over | 15.3% · 62.8% · 21.9% |
| Immigrants (share of population) | 8.7% · arrived 2016–2021: 0.3% |
| Visible minority population | 4.6% · Chinese 0.6% |
| Largest visible minority groups | Black 1.4% · Chinese 0.6% · South Asian 0.5% · Arab 0.5% · Latin American 0.4% |
| Most common mother tongues | English 91.2% · French 1.7% · Portuguese 1.3% · German 0.7% · Italian 0.5% |
| Commuting | Car, truck or van 96.2% · public transit 0.2% · average one-way commute 22 min |
| Median value of owner-occupied dwellings (owner-estimated) | $400,000 |
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population (data tables 98-10-0002, 98-10-0022, 98-10-0041, 98-10-0057, 98-10-0173, 98-10-0240, 98-10-0257, 98-10-0479, 98-10-0622), reference date 2021. Extracted 2026-10-30. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product. Suppressed values are left blank, never estimated.
Questions about Essex property taxes
- How much is property tax on a $600,000 home in Essex?
- At Essex's 2025 residential rate of 1.676%, a home assessed at $600,000 pays about $10,056 a year, using MPAC's 2016-based assessed value rather than the purchase price. Roughly $5,780 of that goes to Essex, $3,358 to Essex County and $918 to education.
- Is property tax higher in Essex or Amherstburg?
- Amherstburg's rate is higher: in 2024 it charged 1.775% against Essex's 1.608%, a gap of 0.167 points or about $1,251 a year on a $750,000 assessment.
- Is property tax lower in Tecumseh than in Essex?
- Yes: Tecumseh's 2024 rate was 1.534%, 0.074 points below Essex's 1.608%, which is about $554 a year on a $750,000 assessment.
- When are Essex property taxes due?
- For 2025, Essex reported 4 residential instalments with due dates on February 28, 2025, April 30, 2025, July 31, 2025 and October 31, 2025; dates shift each year, so confirm the current schedule with the town before paying.
- Why did Essex's tax rate go up in 2025?
- The residential rate moved +0.068 points from 2024 to 2025 while residential taxes collected went up 6.0%. Both rose, so the 0.068-point increase reached existing owners in Essex directly through the rate rather than through assessment growth.
- How much of a Essex tax bill goes to Essex County?
- In 2025, 33% of the residential rate (0.560% of assessed value) was the Essex County levy, 57% was Essex's own levy and 9% was education.
About these numbers
- What is an effective tax rate?
- Total property taxes billed to a class divided by that class's taxable assessment. It is the average rate actually paid, so it can differ slightly from the rate printed in the municipal by-law when a municipality applies different rates to subclasses, phase-ins or special area levies.
- Why is my bill different?
- Your bill depends on your own assessed value, any special area charges, capping or phase-in adjustments and local improvement charges. Use the rate here to compare municipalities, and your assessment notice to estimate your own bill.
- Where does the data come from?
- Every Ontario municipality files an audited Financial Information Return with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. These pages use Schedule 26A, "Taxation and Payments-in-Lieu Summary", for 2016 through 2025. Essex's latest return was updated 2026-08-19, and this page was last rebuilt from the data on October 30, 2026. See the methodology.