Homeowners in Mission Viejo paid property taxes at a rate of 0.5% of their home values in the fourth quarter of 2025, representing less than half the national average, BlockShopper.com reports.
Data from 146 home sales during that quarter show the median sale price in Mission Viejo was $1,329,000. For 2025, the city’s median tax bill amounted to $6,410, reflecting 0.5% of the assessed value for those homes.
The average effective property tax rate nationwide stood at 0.888% in 2024.
Ladera Ranch reported the highest effective property tax rate in Orange County.
This article’s 2025 effective property tax calculations rely on estimated inflation and 2021 county tax data. Actual effective rates may vary slightly in some cases.
According to Redfin data, U.S. home prices continued to climb in 2025, with the national median reaching approximately $447,000 in June. That’s a 1.13% rise compared with a year earlier, Redfin reports. There was also a noticeable gap between supply and demand: sellers outnumbered buyers by 36%, or 508,715 homes. A balanced market, by Redfin’s measure, requires the difference between sellers and buyers to be within 10%.
The following table presents a comparison of Ladera Ranch and select other Orange County cities by median effective property tax rate, based on sales and property tax figures from Q4 2025.
| City | Q4 2025 Sales | Q4 2025 Median Price | Median tax 2025 | Effective tax rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladera Ranch | 22 | $1,750,000 | $15,674 | 0.9% |
| Tustin | 59 | $1,335,000 | $9,023 | 0.7% |
| Brea | 36 | $1,034,000 | $7,536 | 0.7% |
| Las Flores | 6 | $1,302,500 | $9,576 | 0.7% |
| Los Alamitos | 21 | $1,270,000 | $7,911 | 0.6% |
| Buena Park | 70 | $920,000 | $5,482 | 0.6% |
| Placentia | 61 | $1,145,000 | $6,542 | 0.6% |
| North Tustin | 13 | $1,855,000 | $11,098 | 0.6% |
| Fullerton | 155 | $1,150,000 | $6,673 | 0.6% |
| Westminster | 87 | $1,062,000 | $6,245 | 0.6% |
| Cypress | 56 | $1,085,000 | $6,254 | 0.6% |
| Orange | 159 | $1,130,500 | $6,672 | 0.6% |
| Laguna Hills | 40 | $1,360,000 | $8,226 | 0.6% |
| Anaheim | 273 | $1,040,000 | $6,026 | 0.6% |
| Yorba Linda | 91 | $1,499,000 | $9,695 | 0.6% |
| Garden Grove | 124 | $1,005,000 | $6,067 | 0.6% |
| Aliso Viejo | 23 | $1,250,000 | $7,747 | 0.6% |
| Rancho Santa Margarita | 54 | $1,230,000 | $7,325 | 0.6% |
| La Habra | 75 | $940,000 | $5,556 | 0.6% |
| Stanton | 19 | $880,000 | $5,290 | 0.6% |
| Seal Beach | 25 | $1,614,000 | $9,803 | 0.6% |
| Midway City | 6 | $1,170,000 | $6,578 | 0.6% |
| Laguna Niguel | 96 | $1,579,500 | $8,668 | 0.5% |
| Santa Ana | 139 | $910,000 | $4,872 | 0.5% |
| Huntington Beach | 241 | $1,450,000 | $7,510 | 0.5% |
| Newport Beach | 165 | $4,050,000 | $18,814 | 0.5% |
| Lake Forest | 117 | $1,340,000 | $6,913 | 0.5% |
| Fountain Valley | 49 | $1,350,500 | $6,278 | 0.5% |
| San Clemente | 111 | $1,800,000 | $9,558 | 0.5% |
| Irvine | 137 | $2,200,000 | $10,815 | 0.5% |
| Costa Mesa | 118 | $1,672,500 | $7,634 | 0.5% |
| Mission Viejo | 146 | $1,329,000 | $6,410 | 0.5% |
| Laguna Beach | 62 | $2,787,500 | $14,304 | 0.5% |
| San Juan Capistrano | 57 | $1,505,000 | $7,662 | 0.5% |
| La Palma | 9 | $1,237,000 | $6,166 | 0.5% |
| Coto de Caza | 36 | $2,225,000 | $12,021 | 0.5% |
| Rossmoor | 17 | $1,753,000 | $9,396 | 0.5% |
| Villa Park | 7 | $2,649,000 | $12,515 | 0.5% |
| Dana Point | 60 | $2,525,500 | $10,330 | 0.4% |
Information for this report came from BlockShopper.com. The source data are available here.
