Wareham property values rise 7.4% before Nov. 17 hearing on keeping one tax rate
Home values rose faster than business values, so under one rate homes carry a slightly larger share. Last year's rate was $8.56 per $1,000, and the average single-family bill was $4,087, lower than in any of the six towns that border Wareham.
WAREHAM Wareham's taxable property is worth 7.4% more for fiscal 2027 than a year ago, state figures show, and the Select Board decides Tuesday, Nov. 17, whether homes and businesses keep paying one tax rate.
The tax classification hearing is set for 7:15 p.m. in Room 520 of the Multi-Service Center, 48 Marion Road, and on Zoom, during the board's 7 p.m. meeting. The agenda calls it the annual hearing "to determine whether the Town will continue to utilize a single tax rate for all classes of property or to split the tax rate, shifting the burden toward the Commercial, Industrial and Personal Property (CIP) from the Residential Class."
The choice reaches every tax bill in town. Homes gained value faster than business property this year, so if the board keeps one rate, residential property will carry 85.3% of the tax, up from 85.1% last year, by our math from the state's certified values.
What the state figures show
The state Division of Local Services lists Wareham's fiscal 2027 taxable value at $6.79 billion, up from $6.33 billion. Residential property rose 7.7%, to $5.8 billion, while commercial, industrial and personal property rose 5.7% together, to just under $1 billion, by our math. Personal property is mostly the equipment and furnishings businesses are taxed on.
The fiscal 2027 rate has not been set, and last year's single rate was $8.56 per $1,000 of value, or $856 on each $100,000. The average single-family home was valued at $477,438 and paid $4,087, and every 10 cents on the rate works out to about $48 on a home of that value, by our math.
Wareham has used one rate for every class of property in every year of the state's table, which goes back to fiscal 2002. The rate was $11.36 in fiscal 2016 and $10.87 in fiscal 2022, then dropped in each of the next three years before ticking up a penny last year, to $8.56.
What the board decides
State law requires the hearing every year before the state approves a town's tax rate, and it directs the assessors to give the board "all information and data relevant to making such determination and the fiscal effect of the available alternatives." The board then adopts a residential factor, which sets how the tax is divided among the classes of property.
A factor of 1 keeps a single rate, while a lower factor moves part of the tax off homes and onto commercial, industrial and personal property. State law caps that shift so that no class pays more than 150% of its share of the town's value, with a 175% ceiling only in limited cases.
In Wareham this year, the 150% cap means business property could carry at most about 22% of the tax, one and a half times its 14.7% share under one rate. At that limit, the residential rate would sit about 8.6% below a single rate and the business rate 50% above it. On a bill the size of last year's average, $4,087, that would be about $350 less for a homeowner, by our math, with commercial, industrial and personal property owners paying the difference.
How Wareham compares with its neighbors
| Community | Homes | Businesses | Average home bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wareham | $8.56 | $8.56 | $4,087 |
| Bourne | $7.65 | $7.65 | $6,075 |
| Marion | $8.87 | $8.87 | $8,908 |
| Rochester | $10.59 | $10.59 | $6,745 |
| Plymouth | $12.55 | $12.55 | $7,731 |
| Middleborough | $13.12 | $13.90 | $6,994 |
| Carver | $13.61 | $21.68 | $7,448 |
Wareham's average single-family bill last year was the lowest of the seven, and its rate was second lowest, behind Bourne's. Bourne, Marion, Rochester and Plymouth also use one rate, while Middleborough and Carver tax business property at a higher rate than homes.
Rochester's fiscal 2027 rate is already set at $10.62. Marion holds its continued classification hearing the same night at 6 p.m., and Mattapoisett's hearing is at 6:15 p.m.
How to weigh in
Residents can attend in Room 520 or join the Zoom webinar, ID 832 5892 5070, passcode 962288, the agenda says. Resident comments are the fourth item on the agenda, ahead of the hearing. The Assessor's Department can be reached at 508-291-3160 or assessor@wareham.gov.
The same agenda takes up 2027 license renewals for restaurants, package stores and car dealers, and a permit for the Onset Bay Polar Plunge on New Year's Day. The town's second-quarter tax bills came due earlier this month, on Nov. 2.
What happens next
After the hearing, the board votes on the residential factor, and the assessors use the result to set the fiscal 2027 rates. The state will not approve Wareham's rate until the hearing is held and the board adopts how the tax is divided among the classes, state law says.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the Wareham Select Board's posted agenda for Nov. 17, the state Division of Local Services tables for assessed values, tax rates and average single-family bills, the two state laws on classification, the town's staff directory and our earlier stories drawn from town and state records, all read on Nov. 12. Fiscal 2027 rates for Wareham were blank in the state's table when we read it. The percent changes, the 85.3% and 85.1% shares, the 22% and 8.6% figures at the 150% limit, the $350 and the $48 are our math from the state's figures. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: the fiscal 2027 levy, the single rate it would produce and the assessors' recommendation.
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 (11)
- Town of Wareham, Select Board meeting agenda, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026 (Agenda Center, six pages)Town of Wareham. Time, place, Zoom webinar ID and passcode, item 7a tax classification hearing at 7:15 p.m., licenses and permits. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
- Massachusetts Division of Local Services: Assessed Values by Class (Wareham and bordering towns)State figures, fiscal 2025 to 2027; data current as of Nov. 12, 2026. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
- Massachusetts Division of Local Services: Tax Rates by Class (Wareham and bordering towns)State figures, fiscal 2002 to 2027; fiscal 2027 blank for Wareham when read. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
- Massachusetts Division of Local Services: Average Single Family Tax Bill (Wareham and bordering towns)State figures: average single-family value and bill, fiscal 2025 to 2027. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 40, section 56The annual classification hearing, the residential factor, the assessors' information and the state approval of the rate. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 58, section 1AThe minimum residential factor and the 150% and 175% limits. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
- Town of Wareham: staff directory, Assessor's DepartmentPhone 508-291-3160 and assessor@wareham.gov. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Wareham second-quarter property tax bills are due Nov. 2Personal property bills are owed mainly by businesses on equipment and furnishings, from the town's Treasurer/Collector pages.
- South Coast 360: Rochester fiscal 2027 tax rateRochester rate of $10.62, also in the state table read Nov. 12.
- South Coast 360: Marion continues its tax classification hearingMarion continued hearing, 6 p.m. Nov. 17.
- South Coast 360: Mattapoisett tax split hearing set for Nov. 17Mattapoisett hearing, 6:15 p.m. Nov. 17.