Philadelphia's 2027 reassessment, by the numbers: a modest median hides 30,000 homes with 20%+ jumps
Analysis of all 456,910 single-family properties in the city's official 2027 certified values · Source: Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment open data · Journalists: cite freely with a link.
The City of Philadelphia began mailing Tax Year 2027 assessment notices on June 30, 2026. The citywide story sounds mild: the median single-family home's market value rose 4.2% versus its 2026 value. But medians hide the tails — 21.2% of homes jumped at least 10%, and 6.5% (roughly 29,700 homes) jumped 20% or more. For a homeowner, a 20% assessment jump translates to roughly a 20% property-tax increase absent exemptions or a successful appeal.
The geographic pattern is the story: the hardest-hit zip code in Philadelphia is 19134 — Kensington, Harrowgate, and Port Richmond, among the city's lowest-income areas, where the median home's value rose 11.2% and more than 1 in 5 homes jumped 20% or more. Affluent Chestnut Hill (19118) ranks third. Rapid-appreciation, lower-income neighborhoods carrying the steepest increases is precisely the pattern assessment-equity researchers have documented in other cities.
The twelve hardest-hit zip codes
| Zip | Area | Median 2027 increase | Homes up ≥20% | Single-family homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19134 | Kensington / Harrowgate / Port Richmond | +11.2% | 21.8% | 19,593 |
| 19127 | Manayunk | +10.8% | 8% | 2,500 |
| 19118 | Chestnut Hill | +10.6% | 17.3% | 2,449 |
| 19128 | Roxborough | +10.2% | 5.6% | 11,967 |
| 19115 | Bustleton | +9.4% | 13.6% | 9,599 |
| 19142 | Elmwood / Southwest Philly | +9.3% | 9% | 9,284 |
| 19116 | Somerton | +9.2% | 2.7% | 8,516 |
| 19154 | Far Northeast | +7.6% | 0.8% | 10,777 |
| 19114 | Torresdale | +7.4% | 2.5% | 8,856 |
| 19136 | Holmesburg / Mayfair | +7.1% | 5.9% | 9,618 |
| 19153 | Eastwick | +6.4% | 13.7% | 3,528 |
| 19124 | Frankford / Juniata | +6.1% | 3.5% | 18,738 |
What homeowners can do
Every Philadelphia owner has two review paths, both free to file: an informal First Level Review due September 1, 2026 (form included with the mailed notice) and a formal Board of Revision of Taxes appeal due October 5, 2026. Whether a jump is worth challenging depends on one question: does the new value exceed what comparable homes actually sold for? Our free checker answers that for any address in about two minutes, sources cited — and the Philadelphia appeal guide covers the process step by step. Homeowners should also confirm they have the Homestead Exemption, which shields $100,000 of assessed value.
Methodology
We queried Philadelphia's official open-data warehouse (phl.carto.com: assessments joined to opa_properties_public) on July 17, 2026, comparing certified 2027 market values against 2026 values for all single-family properties with a 2026 value above $50,000 — 456,910 parcels, the full population, not a sample. Percentages are shares of that population; zip rows shown have 2,000+ single-family homes. Queries available on request: hello@grovehopper.com.