Somerset homes paid $1,293 per $100,000 of value in fiscal 2026, Westport $728: six tax rates compared
New Bedford's home rate fell from $12.00 to $10.95 in two years, yet its average single-family bill rose from $4,284 to $4,653 as values climbed. As of Friday, Nov. 6, Rochester was the only South Coast community with a fiscal 2027 rate in the state table.
SOUTH COAST A Somerset homeowner paid $1,293 in property tax in fiscal 2026 for every $100,000 of assessed value, and a Westport homeowner paid $728, by South Coast 360's math from the tax rates the state Division of Local Services lists.
Those are the highest and lowest home rates among six South Coast communities South Coast 360 compared: New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Dartmouth, Somerset and Westport. Rates are charged per $1,000 of assessed value, so a lower rate does not by itself mean a lower bill. The bill is the rate times the assessed value of the home, and the state's separate average bill figures show how far values pull the bills apart.
The rates matter now because each city and town sets its fiscal 2027 rate this fall. The New Bedford, Fall River and Somerset assessors each had the fiscal 2027 tax split on their agendas Thursday, Nov. 5, South Coast 360 reported. As of Friday, Nov. 6, Rochester was still the only South Coast community with a fiscal 2027 rate in the state table: $10.62, up from $10.59.
The rates, side by side
| Community | Homes FY2024 | Homes FY2025 | Homes FY2026 | Per $100,000 of home value, FY2026 | Businesses FY2026 | Average single-family bill, FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset | $12.79 | $13.30 | $12.93 | $1,293 | $25.24 | $6,278 |
| Fall River | $11.49 | $11.45 | $11.48 | $1,148 | $23.58 | $4,651 |
| Taunton | $11.19 | $10.94 | $11.14 | $1,114 | $23.73 | $5,540 |
| New Bedford | $12.00 | $11.31 | $10.95 | $1,095 | $21.80 | $4,653 |
| Dartmouth | $8.33 | $8.26 | $8.03 | $803 | $15.78 | $5,276 |
| Westport | $7.73 | $7.45 | $7.28 | $728 | $7.28 | $4,931 |
What the average home pays
Somerset's average single-family bill in fiscal 2026 was $6,278, the highest of the six, on an average home value of $485,506, according to the Division of Local Services' Average Single Family Tax Bill report. Fall River's was the lowest, $4,651 on an average value of $405,164, with New Bedford's close behind at $4,653 on $424,920.
Westport had the lowest rate of the six but not the lowest bill. Its average single-family bill was $4,931, higher than New Bedford's or Fall River's, because its average home was valued at $677,349, the state report shows. Dartmouth's average bill was $5,276 on $657,047, and Taunton's was $5,540 on $497,265.
Across the 19 communities in South Coast 360's Oct. 28 comparison of average bills, Somerset's fiscal 2026 home rate was also the highest and Westport's the lowest, the state table shows.
Which way the rates moved
New Bedford's home rate has dropped the most of the six, by South Coast 360's arithmetic: $1.05 per $1,000 over two years, from $12.00 in fiscal 2024 to $10.95 in fiscal 2026. On a home assessed at $300,000 in both years, the lower rate would mean $315 less in tax a year. New Bedford's average single-family value rose, though, from $356,973 to $424,920 over the same two years, and its average bill went from $4,284 to $4,653, the state report shows.
Two of the six went the other way in fiscal 2026. Taunton's home rate rose from $10.94 to $11.14 and Fall River's from $11.45 to $11.48. Somerset's fell from $13.30 to $12.93 after rising the year before, and it is still the highest of the six. Dartmouth's and Westport's rates have fallen each of the last two years.
Homes and businesses
Five of the six charge businesses a higher rate than homes, the tax split each community votes in the fall. In Taunton the commercial rate, $23.73, is a little more than twice the home rate, and in Somerset, New Bedford, Fall River and Dartmouth businesses pay about twice what homes pay per $1,000, by South Coast 360's arithmetic from the state table. Westport charges one rate, $7.28, to every class of property.
New Bedford, Fall River and Somerset are setting that split for fiscal 2027 now. In Fall River, the Board of Assessors voted 3-0 on Thursday, Nov. 5, to recommend a 1.75 tax factor, which would keep business property carrying the largest share state law allows, and the City Council, with the mayor's approval, makes the final call after its classification hearing at 5:55 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, South Coast 360 reported. In Somerset, the Board of Selectmen and the assessors hold a joint classification hearing Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Somerset Public Library, 1464 County St. The Somerset assessors' Thursday, Nov. 5, agenda also listed a closed session on Appellate Tax Board cases for New England Power and Brayton Point.
What happens next
As each community's fiscal 2027 rate is set and approved, it appears in the same state table, the way Rochester's already has. South Coast 360 will update this comparison as the new rates post, starting with the six above.
Homeowners can find their own assessed value through their city or town assessor's online database, then multiply it by the rate and divide by 1,000 for the year's tax before any exemption.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every rate comes from the state Division of Local Services table Tax Rates by Class, and every average single-family value and bill from the division's Average Single Family Tax Bill report, both downloaded from the state's own reporting site on Nov. 6. The cost per $100,000, the two-year change, the $300,000 example and the business-to-home ratios are South Coast 360's arithmetic from those rates and are labeled that way. The New Bedford, Fall River and Somerset meetings are from our earlier stories, linked. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. South Coast 360 is asking the assessors' offices in all six communities for their own average single-family values and bills, and this story will add them when the offices answer.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (8)
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services: Tax Rates by Class (Excel export of the full table)Residential, open space, commercial, industrial and personal property rates by municipality, fiscal 2023 to 2027. Read and downloaded Nov. 6, 2026.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services: Average Single Family Tax Bill (Excel export of the full table)Single-family values, parcels, average value and average bill by municipality and fiscal year; fiscal 2027 not yet filled for the six. Read and downloaded Nov. 6, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Average single-family tax bills rose in all 19 South Coast communities (Oct. 28, 2026)Our earlier comparison of the 19 communities. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- South Coast 360: New Bedford assessors scheduled their yearly tax split review for Thursday (Nov. 5, 2026)Board of Assessors meeting notice for 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Rochester tax rate rises to $10.62, its first increase since 2017 (Oct. 25, 2026)Our earlier story on the fiscal 2027 Rochester rate. Listed in the sitemap Nov. 6, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Fall River's fiscal 2027 tax split goes to a council hearing Nov. 10 (Nov. 5, 2026)Assessors agenda Thursday, Nov. 5; City Council hearing Nov. 10. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Fall River assessors recommend 1.75 tax factor for fiscal 2027 (Nov. 6, 2026)The 3-0 vote Thursday, Nov. 5, to recommend a 1.75 factor; the largest business share state law allows; the council decides at its Nov. 10 hearing. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Somerset assessors take up the tax split Thursday (Nov. 4, 2026)Assessors meeting Thursday, Nov. 5, with a closed session on Appellate Tax Board cases for New England Power and Brayton Point; joint classification hearing with the selectmen Nov. 18, 6 p.m., Somerset Public Library, 1464 County St. Read Nov. 6, 2026.