Salem homeowners see moderate tax increases, rise in property values slowing

A typical Salem homeowner will pay about $120 more in property taxes this year to fund local school, city and county operations.

What was previously a rapid rise in home values has been cooling off over the last two years. 

The total value of all residential and business property in Marion County was $72.63 billion, an increase of about 4.2% from last year. In Polk County, property values grew to $17.3 billion, a roughly 2.3% increase.

Last year, property values grew 5.1% in Marion County and 8% in Polk County.

Property value increases include both rising value on existing property and adding newly constructed buildings to local tax rolls.

Polk County’s total market value has grown by 33% in the last three years, while Marion County’s has grown by 25.5% during that same period. The significant growth in Polk County in part reflects a wave of new construction spurred by a large number of people moving to the area.

“Polk County is a very different market than Marion County, especially if you are looking at the whole county,” according to Marion County Assessor Tom Rohlfing.

Marion County is along the Interstate 5 corridor and closer to the Portland area. The mix of properties is also different, with Marion County having much more commercial and industrial property, Rohlfing said.

Commercial and industrial values grew by 3.3% in Marion County to about $22.8 billion, and by 3.9% in Polk County to $48.9 million.

The Salem-Keizer School District is expected to collect about $106.1 million to fund operations between Marion and Polk counties, an 3.5% increase from 2023.

The school district will collect another $66.7 million to pay off bonds, debt approved by voters to fund school construction and renovation projects. That’s up about 1.5% from last year.

The city of Salem will collect about $89.9 million from local property owners in both counties, a 3.3% increase from 2023, to fund general operations, and another $20.3 million to pay off bonds.

That money is the largest source of revenue for Salem’s general fund, which pays for basic city operations like police, fire, emergency medical services, park operations and the library.

Property tax statements were mailed out on Oct. 11 to owners in Marion County and on Oct. 21 to those in Polk County. Bills are due by Nov. 15.

County assessors use sales data to determine a property’s market value. A home is taxed based on the assessed value, a lower number that was capped by state law in the 1990s. In both Marion and Polk counties, a typical house’s taxable value is about half its market value, and the assessed value can rise at most by 3% each year.

The 2024 value on this year’s property tax statements is as of Jan. 1.

Property owners in Marion County with questions about their taxes or who disagree with their property valuation can contact the Assessor’s Office at 503-588-5144. The office has an informal review process in place that allows people to get help until early December without filing a formal appeal.

In Polk County, people with questions can call the assessor at 503-623-8391.

Marion County

In Marion County, an average Salem homeowner will pay $4,087 in taxes, up from $3,966 in 2023. The increase because the assessed value of an average home increased to $208,170 this year, up from $202,110 in 2023.

The tax rate – how much a homeowner pays per $1,000 their home is assessed at – remains at about $19.63 for Salem residents in Marion County, the same rate as last year.

The largest taxpayers in Marion County this year are Portland General Electric with a bill of around $8.5 million, Amazon with $6 million and NW Natural with $4 million.

Last year, Amazon paid taxes for the first time on the large warehouse built in 2019 off Oregon Highway 22 in southeast Salem. That property is valued at $111 million. Amazon previously received a three-year tax break for building in the Mill Creek Corporate Center enterprise zone, a special area of the city intended to spur development on what was once farmland.

Other large developments will be added to county tax rolls in the coming years.

Amazon is expected to open a warehouse in Woodburn in spring 2025, according to reporting from the Woodburn Independent. It is valued at nearly $229 million.

Dollar General is also planning a 901,000-square-foot distribution center as part of the Mill Creek Corporate Center, a large transportation and warehouse hub in southeast Salem. Its assessed value is about $47.5 million and the project is less than half completed, Rohlfing said. The site also has an enterprise zone tax exemption that hasn’t gone into effect yet.

He said there has also been a significant amount of apartment construction in recent years.

Polk County

In Polk County, an average West Salem homeowner can expect to pay $5,012 in property taxes for 2024, up from $4,864 last year.

That’s higher than average taxes in the rest of Salem because West Salem homes are on average worth more than those on the other side of the river.

The increase is due to a slightly higher tax rate of $18.85 per $1,000 in assessed value, up from $18.79 last year, as well as the increase in property values. A typical home was assessed at $258,000, an increase from $250,000 last year.

The largest taxpayers in Polk County this year are NW Natural with about $1.3 million, the Orchard Heights Apartments $687,300 and Portland General Electric with $596,900.

Polk County Assessor Valerie Patoine said most of the county’s new apartments were added in previous years.

West Salem’s food truck site, Checkpoint 221, increased its market value by $4 million this year. The property is worth around $6.5 million in total, according to Patoine.

Voters in Polk County approved increases for two local levies. The Polk County Fire District No. 1 levy was raised from $0.19 to $0.78 per $1,000 of assessed property value, and the West Valley Rural Fire Protection District levy grew from $1.06 to $1.72.

The Central School District also decreased its bond amount, which dropped last year’s rate of $3.70 to $1.88 in 2024.

CORRECTION: This story was updated to correct errors in the dates that tax bills were mailed and due, the phone number for the Polk County Assessor’s Office, the amount of taxes that NW Natural owes and the market value of West Salem’s food truck site. Salem Reporter apologizes for the errors.

Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.

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