2026 Common Level Ratio Explained

The Common Level Ratio (CLR) is a critical concept for every Allegheny County property owner to understand. It determines what percentage of your home's market value is used for tax assessment purposes.

What Is the Common Level Ratio?

The Common Level Ratio is a percentage established by Pennsylvania state law that represents the ratio between assessed values and fair market values in a county. For 2026, Pennsylvania's official CLR is 49.3%.

This means that, in theory, your property should be assessed at 49.3% of its fair market value. If your assessment is significantly higher than this ratio, you may be overpaying property taxes.

Why Does the CLR Exist?

The CLR system was created to ensure fairness in property taxation. Since counties can't reassess every property every year, the CLR helps standardize assessments so that all property owners pay their fair share based on current market conditions.

Without the CLR, properties assessed at different times could be taxed on vastly different percentages of their market value, leading to inequalities in the tax burden.

How the CLR Is Calculated

The Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board (STEB) calculates the CLR annually for each county based on sales data. They compare the assessed values of recently sold properties to their actual sale prices, then determine the ratio that would make assessments fair and uniform.

For 2026, after analyzing Allegheny County sales data, STEB determined that 49.3% is the appropriate ratio.

How to Check If Your Assessment Uses the Correct CLR

To determine if your property is fairly assessed:

  1. Find your property's current assessed value (on your tax bill or county website)
  2. Estimate your property's fair market value (what it would sell for today)
  3. Calculate: (Assessed Value / Market Value) × 100
  4. Compare the result to 49.3%. If it's significantly higher, your assessment may be too high.

Example Calculation

Let's say your home has:

  • Assessed Value: $250,000
  • Estimated Market Value: $400,000

Your current ratio = ($250,000 / $400,000) × 100 = 62.5%

Since 62.5% is greater than 49.3%, this property appears to be overassessed. The owner could potentially save money by filing an appeal.

Important Notes About CLR

The CLR is just one factor in determining if an appeal is worthwhile:

  • It applies to the entire county, but individual neighborhoods may have different market conditions
  • The county may use a different ratio for new construction or recently reassessed properties
  • The CLR can change from year to year based on market conditions

Check Your Assessment

Use our free calculator to instantly check whether your assessment appears high under the current 49.3% CLR. We use the same methodology and county data to give you a clear answer in seconds.

Learn More