Town budget
The town's property tax rates, what the property tax raises, and the value of the property it taxes, from the Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance.
Checked . State figures as of ; the Division of Municipal Finance publishes each fiscal year's rates, values, and levies once a year, in the late fall.
Summary
- Residential tax rate $8.94 Per $1,000 of assessed value · Fiscal year 2026 · State median $12.70
- Property tax levy $79.2M Fiscal year 2026
- Property tax per resident $2,474 Fiscal year 2026 · State median $2,597 · Calculated by Publick
Property tax rates
Each rate is the property tax in dollars for each $1,000 of assessed value. Rhode Island lets a town tax homes, businesses, and business equipment (personal property) at different rates, within limits set by state law. The state names each rate by its fiscal year: fiscal year 2026 runs from July 2025 to June 2026, and taxes property as it was assessed on December 31, 2024.
| Fiscal year | Residential | Commercial | Personal property | Motor vehicles | State median, residential |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 * | $8.94 | $8.94 | $11.05 | $0.00 | $12.70 |
| 2025 | $11.05 | $11.05 | $11.05 | $0.00 | $14.44 |
| 2024 | $11.05 | $11.05 | $11.05 | – | $14.39 |
| 2023 | $10.95 | $10.95 | $10.95 | – | $16.38 |
| 2021 | $14.45 | $14.45 | $14.45 | $18.71 | $18.22 |
| 2020 * | $14.45 | $14.45 | $14.45 | $18.71 | $18.73 |
| 2019 | $15.68 | $15.68 | $15.68 | $18.71 | $19.09 |
| 2018 | $15.31 | $15.31 | $15.31 | $18.71 | $18.82 |
| 2017 * | $15.09 | $15.09 | $15.09 | $18.71 | $18.80 |
| 2016 | $15.52 | $15.52 | $15.52 | $18.71 | $19.25 |
| 2015 | $15.48 | $15.48 | $15.48 | $18.71 | $19.25 |
| 2014 * | $15.47 | $15.47 | $15.47 | $18.71 | $18.80 |
* The town revalued its property, or updated its values, as of the December before. Rhode Island cities and towns update their assessments every three years; assessed values jump and the rate falls to match, so a lower rate doesn't by itself mean lower bills. Rhode Island phased out its tax on cars from fiscal year 2018; it ended in fiscal year 2024. A year missing from the table is one whose file Publick doesn't have.
Calculated by Publick. The middle of the residential rates of the Rhode Island cities and towns in each year's table, as the Division of Municipal Finance publishes them.
Source: Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance (opens in new tab), Tax Rates by Class of Property.
What the property tax raises
The town's property tax levy for fiscal year 2026 was $79.2M: the tax on homes, on businesses' real estate, on business equipment, and, until fiscal year 2024, on cars.
| Fiscal year | Total | Residential | Commercial and industrial | Personal property | Motor vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $79.2M | $71.9M | $6.1M | $1.1M | $0 |
| 2021 | $76.4M | $64.1M | $8.0M | $1.7M | $2.7M |
| 2020 | $76.1M | $63.4M | $7.9M | $1.6M | $3.2M |
| 2019 | $73.5M | $60.9M | $7.6M | $1.8M | $3.3M |
| 2018 | $71.3M | $58.8M | $7.3M | $1.7M | $3.4M |
| 2017 | $70.4M | $57.5M | $7.4M | $1.7M | $3.7M |
| 2016 | $68.5M | $55.9M | $7.2M | $1.8M | $3.6M |
| 2015 | $67.6M | $55.3M | $7.2M | $1.6M | $3.5M |
Source: Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance (opens in new tab), Tax Levy by Class of Property.
What the property tax is on
The net assessed value of everything the town taxed in fiscal year 2026 was $8,832.8M, after exemptions such as those for older residents and veterans.
| Fiscal year | Total | Residential | Commercial and industrial | Personal property | Motor vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $8,832.8M | $8,045.6M | $686.1M | $101.1M | $0 |
| 2021 | $5,245.9M | $4,433.1M | $552.8M | $114.5M | $145.6M |
| 2020 | $5,218.5M | $4,390.1M | $545.4M | $114.1M | $168.8M |
| 2019 | $4,653.0M | $3,882.4M | $482.0M | $113.4M | $175.2M |
| 2018 | $4,618.1M | $3,842.2M | $479.0M | $112.7M | $184.2M |
| 2017 | $4,617.6M | $3,813.3M | $491.6M | $113.8M | $198.9M |
| 2016 | $4,374.2M | $3,603.5M | $463.5M | $113.5M | $193.8M |
| 2015 | $4,327.9M | $3,467.1M | $566.9M | $106.5M | $187.3M |
Source: Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance (opens in new tab), Net Assessed Value by Class of Property.
Property tax per resident
In fiscal year 2026, South Kingstown's property tax came to $2,474 per resident. The median across 39 Rhode Island cities and towns was $2,597.
Calculated by Publick. Each municipality's total property tax levy for fiscal year 2026, from the Division of Municipal Finance, divided by its Census population estimate for July 1, 2025, when the fiscal year began. The median is of 39 Rhode Island cities and towns.
Property tax per resident depends on how much of a town's tax base is businesses rather than homes, and on seasonal homes, whose owners pay tax but aren't counted as residents. Population: 32,009. Sources: Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance (opens in new tab); U.S. Census Bureau population estimates (opens in new tab).
Rhode Island doesn't publish an average tax bill, or the assessed values of every home to calculate one from, so this site doesn't show one. Town budget documents, including department detail, are on the town website (opens in new tab).
– means no figure for that year: the state hasn't published it, or, for a change, there's no earlier year to compare with.