When you buy a home in Salem, you take over the seller's assessed value. The Statesman Journal explained in May 2026 that a sale does not change a property's assessed value. The same article said someone who pays $400,000 for a home may be taxed as if it were worth $200,000. So if you're comparing two South Gateway homes at about the same price, the tax line on each listing comes from that house's own history. It doesn't tell you what the house would sell for. It tells you, more than anything, which year the house first went onto Marion County's tax roll.
The timing makes this worth a look now. The 2026-27 statements went out this month, and the county insert says payment is due November 16, 2026. The insert also confirms something the county's own numbers back up: the gap between newer and older homes is getting smaller.
The ratio a house is born with
Under Measure 50, Oregon taxes homes on assessed value. That's the lower of real market value and maximum assessed value, and in ordinary years the maximum can grow by no more than 3%. The Oregon Department of Revenue's maximum assessed value manual puts it plainly: neighboring houses with the same real market value can have very different maximum assessed values, and so very different tax bills.
That difference starts when a house is new. A new home doesn't begin at its market value. Marion County multiplies its real market value by a changed property ratio, or CPR. The Assessor's Reports and Data page describes the CPR as the average maximum assessed value of all unchanged properties in the same class, divided by their average real market value. The goal is to bring new property to "the same general assessment level as unchanged property."
The house keeps the ratio it starts with. From then on its maximum assessed value grows from that starting point, and the market value can move in any direction.
The county publishes every CPR back to 1997 in a single schedule. Here are selected years for the county's residential class, 1xx:
| Tax year | Residential CPR (class 1xx) | What a new home's starting value looked like |
|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 0.8287 | About 83% of market value |
| 2007-08 | 0.6272 | About 63% |
| 2008-09 | 0.6225 | About 62% |
| 2012-13 | 0.9717 | About 97% |
| 2013-14 | 0.9754 | About 98%, the highest in the series |
| 2017-18 | 0.7320 | About 73% |
| 2020-21 | 0.6315 | About 63% |
| 2022-23 | 0.5114 | About 51% |
| 2024-25 | 0.50787 | About 51% |
| 2025-26 | 0.50849 | About 51% |
| 2026-27 | 0.51974 | About 52% |
A home that went onto the roll in 2013-14 started at almost its full market value. A home added in 2022-23 started at about half. After that, both grew from their own starting points by up to 3% a year. If you tour two South Gateway homes built in different decades, you're also looking at two different starting ratios. Neither listing price will show you that.
Why the ratio swings
The table follows the market cycle. The CPR is an average assessed value divided by an average market value. When market values run ahead of the 3% cap, the ratio falls. When market values drop or stall, the capped values catch up and the ratio rises.
You can see both in the schedule. The ratio fell to 0.6225 in 2008-09, rose to 0.9754 by 2013-14, and then fell almost every year until it settled near 0.51 in 2022-23. The countywide roll matches where it is now. Marion County's certified 2026-27 roll shows $69,403,693,069 in real market value and $36,618,765,337 in assessed value. That works out to about 52.8 cents of taxable value for every dollar of market value across the county. It's our own division of the county's totals, not a number the county publishes, but it sits right next to this year's residential CPR.
2026 turned the ratio back up
The 2026 tax statement insert says real market values in Marion County "remained relatively stable with some market areas having slight decreases or increases for the Jan. 1, 2026, assessment date." The same insert says maximum assessed value "routinely grows 3% each year resulting in a typical tax increase of 3%," and that this will be the outcome for many owners again this year.
Put those two lines next to the definition of the ratio and the result follows. Assessed values went up about 3% while market values held steady, so the average of one over the other went up. The residential CPR moved from 0.50849 to 0.51974. It's a small move, but it's the first clear rise after several years near the bottom of the series.
Here's what that means in South Gateway. For about four years, new construction has started near the lowest ratio the county has used since 1997. That's still mostly true. The 2026-27 ratio is still lower than any year before 2022-23. But as long as values stay flat and capped assessments keep rising, each year's new homes start a little higher than last year's. The discount for buying newer is still there. It's just shrinking.
What the ratio looks like on a real bill
The rate on a South Gateway statement depends on the property's code area, which is printed on the statement. In Salem's code area 24010, the certified 2026-27 total is $20.5117 per $1,000 of assessed value. Codes 24013 and 24015 show the same total. These are the largest pieces of the 24010 total:
- City of Salem: 5.6568
- Salem bonds: 1.1798
- Salem local option levy: 0.9800
- Salem-Keizer School District: 4.3855
- Salem-Keizer school bonds: 2.6156
- Marion County: 2.9483
- Salem Mass Transit: 0.7383
- Chemeketa Community College and its bond: 0.6073 and 0.2509
Together those come to $19.3625. The other $1.1492 is spread across smaller lines. Those include the Willamette Regional ESD at 0.2880, the Regional Library at 0.0795, a Salem urban renewal special levy at 0.2074, and urban renewal rates for the Riverfront, West Salem and South Waterfront areas.
Take a hypothetical new home with a $500,000 real market value that goes onto the roll this year. At 0.51974, its starting maximum assessed value is $259,870. At code area 24010's total rate, that comes to roughly $5,330 for the year. Now take the same $500,000 home, but assume it had been added in 2013-14 at 0.9754. It would have started at $487,700. After that, the 3% cap and the market would have decided where it ended up. The house and the price are the same, but the starting points are about $228,000 apart. That's the gap the Department of Revenue manual describes.
Remodels reset part of the clock
Sellers need this part as much as buyers do. The county insert lists remodeling and new construction among the changes that can raise taxes by more than 3%. The Assessor's data page sets thresholds for "minor construction." That's up to $18,700 of added real market value in a single year, or $46,200 added over five years. Once total construction value goes past $46,200 within a five-year period, that value is multiplied by the current year's CPR and added to the existing maximum assessed value.
So a South Gateway home can carry two ratios. The original house keeps the ratio it started with, and a major addition comes in at whatever year it was finished. The new space is taxed at this year's 0.51974, not at the house's original ratio.
If you're buying, that's a reason to ask when major work was finished. If you're preparing to sell, it's part of the cost of a large pre-listing project. Paint, staging, and landscaping are a different kind of spending from an addition that the assessor values.
Reading your 2026-27 statement
If your statement is on the counter this week, the county's own materials give you a quick way to read it:
- Find your code area and compare your rate with the certified table in the 2026-27 Summary of Tax Roll.
- Compare assessed value with real market value. Assessed value is the lower of the two numbers.
- If your assessed value or taxes rose more than 3%, the insert suggests calling the Assessor's Office at 503-588-5144 to make sure a new property was valued correctly in its first year.
- Check the due date. The 2026 insert says November 16, 2026, and warns that all discounts are lost if payment is made or postmarked after that date. The county's payment information page lists a 3% discount for paying in full, 2% for paying two-thirds, and no discount for paying one-third.
FAQ
Does my purchase price change my assessed value?
No. The Statesman Journal reported that a sale doesn't change a property's assessed value, so you take over the tax history the house already has.
Why did my bill go up if my home's value didn't?
The capped maximum assessed value keeps growing by up to 3% a year whether or not the market moves. The county's 2026 insert describes exactly that: steady market values and a typical 3% tax increase.
Where can I see the ratios for myself?
The Marion County Assessor posts the full 1997-2026 changed property ratio schedule on its Reports and Data page. The Oregon Department of Revenue has a summary of the 3% limit and its exceptions on its property tax page.
This post is general information about how Marion County assesses property. It isn't tax, legal, or financial advice, so please check your own situation with the Assessor's Office or a qualified tax professional.
When we price and prepare a South Gateway home, the tax history is part of the story buyers will ask about: when the house went onto the roll, what work came later, and what that means for its bill. If you'd like that worked out for your own address before you list or make an offer, Heather Rauh would be glad to walk through it with you. Schedule a Consultation.
