Salem Average Single-Family Tax Bill To Rise $285 In 2024

SALEM, MA — The average single-family homeowner in Salem's property taxes will go up $285 in 2024 after the City Council on Thursday approved the recommendation of a 1.75:1 commercial tax rate shift and approved $1.25 million in "free cash" to offset the burden on residents.

The increase comes as residential property values rose disproportionally to commercial values. Single-family and condo values rose 12.3 percent, two-family home values rose 11.6 percent and three-family home values rose 10.8 percent. Commercial property values rose 3.8 percent.

Because Salem is at the maximum tax shift allowed at 1:75:1 — meaning commercial property owners pay more to ease the burden on residential property owners — commercial tax bills will actually go down in the city as residential rates rise.

According to numbers presented at the meeting, the average single-family home in Salem is worth $580,237 with the bill going up $285. With 63 percent of homes assessed below the average value, the median single-family home bill will rise $265.

The average condo in the city is assessed at $433,388 with the tax bill going up $169.

The average two-family home is assessed at $633,384 will the tax bill going up $235.

The average three-family home is assessed at $746,238 with the tax bill going up $294.

The median commercial property is assessed at $429,000 with the tax bill going down $245.

Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo noted during the presentation that Salem residents pay a "relatively low tax bill increase compared to many other communities."

The tax levy of about $117.4 million is about $8.3 million short of what it could be at maximum under state law.

"We could be spending more money but we're trying to be fiscally responsible," City Councilor Robert McCarthy noted.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)