Fort Erie property tax rate 2025
Town in Niagara · population 32,901 · 16,690 households
Last updated October 30, 2026; data vintage 2025 (Financial Information Return) and 2021 (Census). How these numbers are made.
In 2025, Fort Erie collected $71,713,374 in residential property taxes on $3,943,493,368 of taxable residential assessment. That works out to an effective rate of 1.819%, 0.461 points above the Ontario median of 1.357% for 2024. Among the 391 lower- and single-tier municipalities that filed for 2024, Fort Erie ranks 307th lowest and 9th of 12 within Niagara. The 2025 figure is from a return filed ahead of most municipalities, so the provincial ranking still uses 2024.
Where the tax goes
| Municipal (Fort Erie) | 0.776% | 43% of the bill |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 0.889% | 49% |
| Education (Province of Ontario) | 0.153% | 8% |
| Total residential rate | 1.819% | 100% |
Municipal Regional / county Education
Understanding your Fort Erie tax bill
Who sends the bill
Fort Erie is a lower-tier town in Niagara Region, so its residential bill has three parts: Fort Erie's own levy of 0.776%, the regional levy of 0.889% set by Niagara Region, and the provincial education levy of 0.153%. Of every $100 of residential tax in 2025, about $43 stayed with Fort Erie, $49 went to Niagara Region and $8 went to school boards through the province. Niagara Region's share is the larger municipal piece here; the regional levy typically pays for policing, paramedics, social services, water treatment and regional roads, while Fort Erie's levy typically covers local roads, fire, parks, libraries and planning.
How the rate compares
Among the 391 Ontario municipalities ranked for 2024, Fort Erie's 1.702% is the 307th lowest, with about 21% of municipalities charging more. That is 0.344 points above the provincial median of 1.357%, or about $1,722 a year more on a $500,000 assessment. Within Niagara Region it ranks 9th lowest of 12, between Thorold at 1.640% and Wainfleet at 1.733%: on a $750,000 assessment that is about $461 more than Thorold and $240 less than Wainfleet.
What moved the rate
From 2016 to 2025 Fort Erie's residential rate rose 0.327 points, from 1.492% to 1.819%, while residential taxes collected grew 57% and the taxable residential assessment base grew 29%. The levy outpaced assessment growth by 28 points over 9 years, so the rate did the work and a Fort Erie 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 Fort Erie's 1.819% is a 2016 figure, not today's price. In the 2021 Census, owners in Fort Erie put the median value of their home at $500,000, while the 2025 return works out to about $236,000 of taxable residential assessment per household. A buyer paying around $500,000 should not multiply it by 1.819%: that would suggest $9,093 a year, whereas at the average assessment the same rate gives about $4,292. Buying a home in Fort Erie does not reset its assessment; MPAC changes it only for new construction, renovations, or a successful reconsideration or appeal.
Instalments
Fort Erie 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. Fort Erie'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 Fort Erie paid 3.686% in 2025, 2.03 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 7.8% of Fort Erie's taxable assessment but paid 14.9% 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 Fort Erie'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 Fort Erie property tax
| Assessed value | Municipal | Region / county | Education | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $3,882 | $4,445 | $765 | $9,093 |
| $750,000 | $5,823 | $6,668 | $1,148 | $13,639 |
| $1,000,000 | $7,764 | $8,891 | $1,530 | $18,185 |
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
Fort Erie's residential rate rose from 1.492% in 2016 to 1.819% 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 | 1.492% | 0.651% | 0.652% | 0.188% | $45,536,172 |
| 2017 | 1.404% | 0.633% | 0.605% | 0.167% | $46,256,828 |
| 2018 | 1.423% | 0.654% | 0.607% | 0.162% | $47,546,936 |
| 2019 | 1.444% | 0.668% | 0.619% | 0.157% | $49,586,645 |
| 2020 | 1.505% | 0.690% | 0.660% | 0.156% | $51,703,233 |
| 2021 | 1.493% | 0.680% | 0.660% | 0.153% | $53,248,663 |
| 2022 | 1.526% | 0.695% | 0.678% | 0.153% | $55,842,214 |
| 2023 | 1.619% | 0.701% | 0.765% | 0.153% | $60,444,142 |
| 2024 | 1.702% | 0.740% | 0.809% | 0.153% | $65,853,421 |
| 2025 | 1.819% | 0.776% | 0.889% | 0.153% | $71,713,374 |
Instalments and due dates (2025)
Fort Erie reported 4 residential instalments in 2025, with due dates including February 28, 2025, April 30, 2025, June 30, 2025, September 29, 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 | 1.819% | $3,943,493,368 | $71,713,374 |
| Multi-residential | 3.111% | $54,329,817 | $1,690,243 |
| Farmland | 0.455% | $60,033,500 | $272,931 |
| Managed forests | 0.455% | $1,217,800 | $5,537 |
| Commercial | 3.686% | $275,363,847 | $10,148,836 |
| Office building | 3.769% | $671,100 | $25,297 |
| Shopping centre | 3.770% | $15,286,700 | $576,234 |
| Parking lot | 3.770% | $691,900 | $26,082 |
| Industrial | 5.260% | $42,777,991 | $2,250,261 |
| Large industrial | 5.260% | $9,326,804 | $490,619 |
| Pipelines | 3.715% | $17,727,000 | $658,538 |
| Other classes | 4.075% | $3,419,700 | $139,363 |
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 Niagara (2024)
| Municipality | Residential rate | Tax on $750,000 | Ontario rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Erie | 1.702% | $12,761 | 307 |
| Grimsby | 1.286% | $9,647 | 152 |
| Lincoln | 1.441% | $10,809 | 232 |
| Niagara Falls | 1.513% | $11,349 | 261 |
| Niagara-on-the-Lake | 1.143% | $8,575 | 97 |
| Pelham | 1.509% | $11,321 | 260 |
| Port Colborne | 2.038% | $15,284 | 360 |
| St Catharines | 1.492% | $11,193 | 254 |
| Thorold | 1.640% | $12,300 | 289 |
| Wainfleet | 1.733% | $13,001 | 315 |
| Welland | 1.802% | $13,515 | 326 |
| West Lincoln | 1.336% | $10,021 | 179 |
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
Fort Erie had 32,901 residents in the 2021 Census, up 7.1% from 30,710 in 2016. The median age was 51.6, older than Ontario's 41.6; 13.4% of residents were under 15 and 27.3% were 65 or older. Median household income in 2020 was $76,000, below the Ontario median of $91,000. Immigrants made up 16.6% of the population (Ontario: 30.0%), and 1.2% of residents had arrived between 2016 and 2021. After English, the most common mother tongues were French (1.6%), Spanish (1.3%) and Italian (1.1%).
| Private dwellings occupied by usual residents | 14,081 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 2.3 persons |
| Age 0 to 14 · 15 to 64 · 65 and over | 13.4% · 59.4% · 27.3% |
| Immigrants (share of population) | 16.6% · arrived 2016–2021: 1.2% |
| Visible minority population | 7.8% · Chinese 1.3% |
| Largest visible minority groups | Black 2.0% · Latin American 1.6% · Chinese 1.3% · South Asian 0.9% · Filipino 0.6% |
| Most common mother tongues | English 88.4% · French 1.6% · Spanish 1.3% · Italian 1.1% · German 0.7% |
| Commuting | Car, truck or van 94.4% · public transit 0.3% · average one-way commute 22 min |
| Median value of owner-occupied dwellings (owner-estimated) | $500,000 |
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 Fort Erie property taxes
- How much is property tax on a $600,000 home in Fort Erie?
- At Fort Erie's 2025 residential rate of 1.819%, a home assessed at $600,000 pays about $10,911 a year, using MPAC's 2016-based assessed value rather than the purchase price. Roughly $4,659 of that goes to Fort Erie, $5,335 to Niagara Region and $918 to education.
- Is property tax higher in Fort Erie or Wainfleet?
- Wainfleet's rate is higher: in 2024 it charged 1.733% against Fort Erie's 1.702%, a gap of 0.032 points or about $240 a year on a $750,000 assessment.
- Is property tax lower in Thorold than in Fort Erie?
- Yes: Thorold's 2024 rate was 1.640%, 0.061 points below Fort Erie's 1.702%, which is about $461 a year on a $750,000 assessment.
- When are Fort Erie property taxes due?
- For 2025, Fort Erie reported 4 residential instalments with due dates on February 28, 2025, April 30, 2025, June 30, 2025 and September 29, 2025; dates shift each year, so confirm the current schedule with the town before paying.
- Why did Fort Erie's tax rate go up in 2025?
- The residential rate moved +0.117 points from 2024 to 2025 while residential taxes collected went up 8.9%. Both rose, so the 0.117-point increase reached existing owners in Fort Erie directly through the rate rather than through assessment growth.
- How much of a Fort Erie tax bill goes to Niagara Region?
- In 2025, 49% of the residential rate (0.889% of assessed value) was the Niagara Region levy, 43% was Fort Erie's own levy and 8% 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. Fort Erie's latest return was updated 2026-10-06, and this page was last rebuilt from the data on October 30, 2026. See the methodology.