LA County’s tax roll grows for 16th straight year, tops $2.2 trillion

Despite one of the most challenging years in recent memory, marked by the ongoing response to the devastating wildfires that swept through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities and a cooling real estate market, I’m here to tell you that the 2026 Assessment Roll when closed reached a record $2.272 trillion in total net taxable value.

The 2026 Assessment Roll increased by $96 billion, or 4.42 percent, over the previous year, extending Los Angeles County’s streak of annual growth to 16 consecutive years.

This will generate more than $27 billion in property tax revenue to support vital public services, including public education, public safety, healthcare, libraries, parks, and other local government services throughout Los Angeles County.

My job as your Assessor is to establish the assessed value of all taxable property in Los Angeles County each year as required by the State Constitution. The assessed value of that property is placed on a list called the Assessment Roll and assessments are based on the value of property on January 1, 2026.

As I said when I presented the forecast to the Board of Supervisors in May, this has been a very challenging year, highlighted by the devastation of last year’s wildfires that laid to waste large sections of Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. We will be feeling the effect of those wildfires for years to come.

Despite diverting significant staff resources to assist thousands of property owners affected by those wildfires, we continued implementing innovative assessment strategies supported by recent major technology upgrades. As an example, we continued to improve efficiency in enrolling new construction assessments. As a result, new construction added more than $12 billion to the 2026 assessment roll.

The inflation adjustment mandated under Proposition 13 is a significant factor contributing to the Assessment Roll. This year the California Consumer Price Index trended well beyond the full 2% allowable. This resulted in a $43 billion increase to the 2026 Assessment Roll.

While the housing market has shown signs of slowing, median home sales prices remained robust, reaching a high of $982,000. With that being said, property transfers served as the single most significant factor contributing to this year’s Roll growth – adding $49 billion in additional value.

This growth does not mean property owners will be subject to a corresponding increase on their annual property tax bills. Most property owners will see only a 2% adjustment prescribed by Proposition 13.

Beyond determining property taxes, the Roll serves as an important economic benchmark that local governments rely upon when preparing annual budgets and planning essential public services.

The 2026 Assessment Roll includes 2,399,978 taxable real property parcels, 157,195 business property assessments, 31,938 boats, and 3,566 aircraft.

You can access the 2026 Assessment Roll online.