51 Percent of Tarrant County Seniors Pay Zero School Property Tax

2025 Analysis | Tarrant County

Recent law changes affect senior homeowners has become more important than ever. This 2025 study takes a deep look at appraisal records and actual tax rolls to show how many seniors in Tarrant County still pay school district taxes and how much they actually owe after exemptions and senior freezes are applied.

Our analysis used detailed data from the Tarrant Appraisal District and the Tarrant County Tax Assessor–Collector. Out of 506,595 residential properties in Tarrant County school districts, we identified 127,182 households with an Over-65 exemption and measured their real school district tax liability. The results show exactly how new policy changes are shaping senior tax bills across the county.

Countywide Overview of Senior Tax Liability

Across all districts included in the study, senior households fall into three groups:

• 51.21 percent pay zero school district taxes
• 29.16 percent pay between 1 cent and 1,000 dollars per year
• 19.63 percent pay more than 1,000 dollars per year

In other words, about four out of every five senior homeowners now pay 1,000 dollars or less in school taxes each year, and many pay nothing at all.

How Many Seniors Live in Tarrant County School Districts?

Out of 506,595 residential properties analyzed, 127,182 homes have an Over-65 exemption. Thats roughly 25 percent.

District Comparison: Seniors Paying Zero School Taxes

The following graph shows how many households with an over 65 exemption pay $0 school tax.

Senior Population by District

We compared each district’s senior population with the number of seniors who pay zero school tax. Districts like Fort Worth ISD and Arlington ISD have the largest senior homeowner populations, while districts such as Lake Worth and Everman have some of the highest zero-tax rates.

Over-65 Tax Exposure Index: How Much Seniors Actually Pay

This graph breaks senior property owners into three groups:

• Seniors paying zero
• Seniors paying between 1 cent and 1,000 dollars
• Seniors paying more than 1,000 dollars

Examples from the data:

2025 Property Values by District

We observed that there is a strong correlation between property value and number of seniors with low school district proprty tax burdons.

The following is data to show the property values of each school district. 

Lake Worth ISD
Average: $275,298
Median: $285,000

Everman ISD
Average: $281,086
Median: $269,999

Fort Worth ISD
Average: $391,152
Median: $307,750

Birdville ISD
Average: $362,508
Median: $330,000

Arlington ISD
Average: $339,787
Median: $315,000

Crowley ISD
Average: $355,952
Median: $325,000

Mansfield ISD
Average: $465,974
Median: $429,219

Keller ISD
Average: $537,385
Median: $407,000

Data Sources

• All tax data in this report comes directly from public records
• Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) – Ownership, appraisal values, and exemption data
  https://www.tad.org/resources/data-downloads
• Tarrant County Tax Assessor–Collector – Certified tax roll, levy amounts, and actual tax due
  https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/en/tax/property-tax/tarrant-county-tax-roll.html
• Sales data comes from ntreis.net

Study Scope and Districts Included

• To avoid cross-county distortion, this study includes only school districts entirely within Tarrant County:
• Arlington ISD, Birdville ISD, Everman ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Keller ISD, Mansfield ISD, Lake Worth ISD, Crowley ISD
• Excluded districts cross county lines, including Grapevine-Colleyville, Northwest, Kennedale, Aledo, Burleson, Lewisville and others.
• Only residential properties were analyzed, and all values reflect 2025 certified levy amounts after exemptions and senior freezes.