Bexar Appraisal District Budgets Total $25.90 MM / Year
The Bexar Appraisal District (BCAD) is essential to funding MUDs, schools, and other projects for the county. For such an important government apparatus, BCAD has a budget of $25.90 million and only 194 full-time employees, with only 77 being appraisers. With 10,053 parcels for every appraiser, it is little wonder that the district has to resort to a one-size-fits-all policy when it comes to property tax valuations. Protect yourself from aggressive taxation when you enroll in the Property Tax Protection Program™ from O’Connor. Fight for your rights with no hidden fees or upfront costs and never pay unless you save. Enroll, relax, and save.
Total 2018 CAD Budget Including ARBSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Millions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Budget | 15.016 | 15.871 | 16.059 | 16.645 | 18.658 | 18.262 | 18.948 | 18.842 | 20.238 | 23.675 | 25.901 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.4201 | 0.5201 | 0.5219 | 0.6035 | 0.6910 | 0.6903 | 0.6842 | 0.7484 | 0.7534 | 0.753 | 0.885 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
Bexar County CAD Operations and Budgets
As Texas has no income tax to fund itself, the Bexar Appraisal District (BCAD) is responsible for obtaining most of the money to run local government. This is a lot to put on an organization that has only 194 full-time employees. In charge of assessing, evaluating, taxing, and then collecting taxes across the entirety of the San Antonio area, BCAD has to cut corners where it can, and accurate property taxes and valuations are where the cuts usually come from.
The appraisal district may not be on your side, but O’Connor is. Based in Texas, O’Connor is one of the biggest firms dedicated to protecting Texas taxpayers in the nation, and has been dedicated to this cause for half a century. O’Connor has the people, skill, and experience to make sure that BCAD is not exploiting you and will get you the best cut possible for your property taxes in San Antonio and beyond.
BCAD Total CAD Budget Including ARB
BCAD is one of the few major Texas appraisal districts that has kept their budget in line with property growth. While not funded to the task at hand, it is at least equipped with basic funding. The 2024 budget was $25.91 million, a significant bump from $23.86 million in 2023. Property values in Bexar County have more than doubled in the past decade, and any little bit of funding helps.
The main weakness in both the San Antonio area and Texas, is that the appraisal review board (ARB) never receives a large budgetary increase as well. Included in the overall budget, the ARB is meant to be a neutral body that can handle disputes between taxpayers and BCAD. However, ARB funding has remained static since 2021, sitting at around $750,000. This was finally rectified in 2024, with a new budget of $885,300. This may have been in response to the growing importance of formal hearings in the county.
Total Property Taxes Levied Bexar CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Billions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Property Taxes Levied | 2.8803 | 3.1785 | 3.4904 | 3.7431 | 3.9904 | 4.1546 | 4.3481 | 4.5175 | 4.9708 | 4.8726 | 5.0048 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Appealing annually helps the appraisal district avoid over-taxing a property for both market value and unequal appraisal.
Bexar County Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
The appraisal district funds several taxing bodies that make Bexar County function, including MUDs and school districts. To meet spiraling demands, taxes must be levied. In keeping with BCAD’s valuation for real property, taxes have increased by 73.76% in the past decade. $5 billion in taxes were collected in 2024, the most in the county’s history. There had previously been a small retreat in 2023, but that was easily reversed, as is to be expected for any major county in Texas.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - Bexar CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Number of FTEs | 150 | 153 | 154 | 154 | 157 | 160 | 161 | 161 | 167 | 186 | 194 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions in Total Budget
With 194 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, BCAD is a small organization for what it must do. The main complication that this represents to Bexar County property owners is that appraisers simply cannot get accurate values for every parcel or piece of real estate in the county. Without being able to take time to gauge every property, the district is forced to use computer models, rough estimates, and previous values to determine taxable value. This can lead to the overcharging of most taxpayers, doing a disservice to the entire county.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - Bexar CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| FTEs Appraisal Total | 70 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 78 | 80 | 79 | 77 | 79 | 84 | 77 | |
| Residential | 43 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 47 | 47 | 46 | 44 | 47 | 41 | |
| Commercial | 7 | 8 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | |
| All Other | 20 | 22 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 19 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
BCAD FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
BCAD’s 194 FTEs are diluted even further when it comes to light that only 84 of them appraise property. This leaves 77 appraisers to survey 774,100 parcels across all of Bexar County. That adds up to 10,053 parcels that each appraiser must accurately determine the value of. 41 FTEs were assigned to residential, 17 to Commercial properties, and 19 to industrial and miscellaneous properties.