Occidental property owners paid property taxes equal to 1% of their home’s value during the fourth quarter of 2025, a rate exceeding the national average by more than 1.1 times, as reported by BlockShopper.com.
Data indicate the median sale price of a home in Occidental reached $500,000 during that period, based on the seven homes sold. For 2025, the city’s median tax bill was $4,988, matching 1% of the assessed value of taxed properties.
The average U.S. effective property tax rate stood at 0.888% in 2024.
Within Sonoma County, Guerneville, Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente and Temelec held the three highest property tax rates among cities.
This article’s calculation of the 2025 effective property tax rate is based on estimated inflation adjustments to 2021 county tax data; in some instances, actual figures may differ slightly.
U.S. home prices rose again in 2025, with the national median reaching roughly $447,000 in June, an increase of 1.13% from the prior year, according to Redfin. Figures also highlight a major gap between supply and demand, with 36% more homes listed by sellers than there were buyers—a difference of 508,715 properties. Redfin defines a balanced housing market as having no more than a 10% difference between the number of sellers and buyers.
The following table shows a comparison of Guerneville and other Sonoma County cities by their median effective property tax rates, calculated from fourth-quarter 2025 sales and tax data.
| City | Q4 2025 Sales | Q4 2025 Median Price | Median tax 2025 | Effective tax rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guerneville | 19 | $541,000 | $6,651 | 1.2% |
| Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente | 13 | $660,000 | $8,038 | 1.2% |
| Temelec | 10 | $744,500 | $8,042 | 1.1% |
| Cloverdale | 26 | $572,500 | $5,920 | 1% |
| Forestville | 11 | $599,000 | $6,257 | 1% |
| Boyes Hot Springs | 21 | $730,000 | $7,121 | 1% |
| Occidental | 7 | $500,000 | $4,988 | 1% |
| El Verano | 8 | $819,500 | $7,599 | 0.9% |
| Larkfield-Wikiup | 17 | $781,000 | $7,366 | 0.9% |
| Timber Cove | 2 | $750,000 | $7,066 | 0.9% |
| Windsor | 45 | $800,000 | $6,813 | 0.9% |
| Graton | 5 | $970,000 | $8,456 | 0.9% |
| Roseland | 6 | $608,710 | $5,349 | 0.9% |
| Santa Rosa | 352 | $683,911 | $5,554 | 0.8% |
| Bodega Bay | 7 | $1,275,000 | $10,480 | 0.8% |
| Salmon Creek | 3 | $790,000 | $6,280 | 0.8% |
| Sonoma | 23 | $1,200,000 | $9,506 | 0.8% |
| Bloomfield | 3 | $780,000 | $6,384 | 0.8% |
| Cotati | 16 | $707,500 | $5,781 | 0.8% |
| Healdsburg | 27 | $950,000 | $7,205 | 0.8% |
| Rohnert Park | 80 | $647,750 | $5,025 | 0.8% |
| Monte Rio | 8 | $482,500 | $3,759 | 0.8% |
| Petaluma | 126 | $827,500 | $6,117 | 0.7% |
| Sebastopol | 14 | $850,000 | $5,999 | 0.7% |
| Sea Ranch | 26 | $1,395,000 | $9,414 | 0.7% |
| Penngrove | 5 | $1,265,000 | $8,920 | 0.7% |
| Geyserville | 3 | $1,025,000 | $6,791 | 0.7% |
| Glen Ellen | 3 | $1,703,000 | $7,610 | 0.4% |
Information for this report was sourced from BlockShopper.com. The source data is available here.