Town Meeting Members are voting on a budget next week, which will have implications to residents’ overall taxes.
The tax impact of the proposed 2027 fiscal year budget will not be known until the tax rate is set in the fall. The Finance Committee, however, warned that the tax increase “is certain” to be “above-average” due to the use of excess levy money. While the levy is funded through real estate taxes, the town also relies on other local receipts such as excise taxes, parking permits, and investment income.
Swampscott’s tax rate setting policy has five major components:
- Setting the town budget
- Estimating local receipts
- Small business exemption / residential exemption
- Application of free cash / reserves to mitigate tax increases
- Split tax rate
The Finance Committee projects the proposed fiscal 2027 operating budget would add approximately $0.64 per $1,000 of assessed value to the tax rate, about $617 annually for the average single-family home, based on fiscal 2026 assessments.
According to Homes.com, the median listing price in Swampscott is about $799,900, up from roughly $750,000 a few months ago. The median sale price for homes in Swampscott over the last 12 months is $769,900, up 5% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months. Zillow lists the average home value in Swampscott at $816,299, which is an increase of 1.8% over the past year.
Director of Assessing Paul Plouffe said in November that the average assessed value of a single-family home for the 2026 fiscal year is about $951,366.
Though, affordability goes beyond the numbers.
Swampscott Housing Authority Chair Charles Patsios said affordability extends beyond home prices alone. While buyers may be able to purchase more houses in Swampscott than in neighboring communities such as Marblehead, he said overall ownership costs — including taxes, utilities, education spending, and municipal expenses — shape whether a community is truly affordable.
Swampscott’s average single-family tax bill has continued to rise over the past decade, though its rank among Essex County communities has declined slightly.
In 2016, the town had the fourth-highest average single-family tax bill among the county’s 34 communities at $8,961. By 2025, it ranked 11th at $10,618, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The average bill increased again in 2026 to $11,478, remaining the county’s 11th highest.
That said, Swampscott’s single-family tax bill is consistently higher than the county’s average.
The average single-family value, or the average market or assessed value of single-family homes in the area, within the community has risen as well, with Swampscott at $956,516 in 2026, right in the middle of the pack at 14th out of 34. The town’s value has risen since 2016, when it was at $522,109, which was 11th out of the district.
This is seen more drastically in a chart highlighting Swampscott’s average single-family value compared to the county’s average each year.
When looking at the single-family tax bill as a percentage of the value, meaning the average tax bill divided by the average home value, Swampscott again used to be the third highest ratio in 2016 and 2017, but the town has since dropped to the middle of the pack.
Swampscott, however, has stayed above the overall county average, but it has lowered along with the county’s percentage.
When comparing with peer communities – which includes Georgetown, Hamilton, Hull, Ipswich, Lynnfield, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, Middleton, Newburyport, Rockport, Scituate, and Winthrop – Swampscott has seen significantly slower tax-bill growth, especially compared to towns like Manchester by the Sea, Middleton and Hamilton. Peer communities experienced 47% increases over the past decade, while Swampscott saw an increase of 26%.
That said, Swampscott’s single-family tax bill has stayed above the overall average each year.
Swampscott also appears consistent with the rest of the peer communities for average single-family value, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue data. The town’s value has gone from an average of $522,109 in 2016 to $956,516 in 2026.
The town’s value has been below the average peer community’s consistently since 2016.
And in terms of single-family tax bill as a percentage of the value, Swampscott was at the top in 2016 and 2017, at 1.73% and 1.75% respectively, but has lowered toward the middle of the peer communities since, to 1.2% in 2026.
Swampscott has been above the peer community’s averages, though, consistently.
