Athens County, Ohio Sales Tax Rate
Buying anywhere in Athens County? The combined sales tax rate is 7.25%. Below is the full breakdown and a calculator already set to Athens County.
Athens County Rate Breakdown
Bordering County Savings Radar
How Athens's 7.25% rate compares on a $100.00 purchase across county lines
Retail Purchases
Under R.C. 5739.033(B)(1), sales made by Ohio vendors are origin-sourced to where the order is received. Out-of-state remote sellers shipping to Athens County charge this 7.25% destination rate.
Vehicle Titling
Under R.C. 4505.06, motor vehicles are taxed strictly by your county of residence at titling. On a $30,000 vehicle, Athens County residents owe $2,175.00.
Groceries & Medicine
Unprepared food for human consumption and prescription drugs are 100% exempt ($0 tax) statewide in Athens County under the Ohio Constitution (Art. XII, § 13), R.C. 5739.02(B)(2) (food), and R.C. 5739.02(B)(18) (prescription drugs).
Athens County's 7.25% rate sits above the statewide average of 7.14%. Across Ohio, combined rates run from 6.50% to 8.00%. Compare all 88 Ohio county rates side by side.
Anywhere in Athens County, a taxable purchase adds 1.50% in county and transit tax on top of Ohio's 5.75% state base — the 7.25% combined rate shown above. 50 of Ohio's 88 counties charge this exact rate. Cars, general merchandise, and prepared restaurant food are all taxed at 7.25%, while unprepared groceries and prescription drugs stay exempt statewide.
Ranked against the rest of the state, Athens County is the 8th-highest of Ohio's 88 counties, tied with 50 others on 7.25%. In hard numbers that matters most on big-ticket buys: a $30,000.00 car costs $2,175.00 in sales tax here. Registering the same car in Butler County (6.50%, Ohio's lowest) would cost $1,950.00 — a $225.00 difference. At the other end, Cuyahoga County (8.00%) would charge $2,400.00. Ohio taxes a vehicle at the rate of the buyer's county of residence, not the dealer's, so the county on your registration is the one that sets the bill.
Athens County is seated at Athens (the city and the county share a name), covers 507 square miles and is home to 61,573 people — the 41st-most-populous of Ohio's 88 counties, at about 122 people per square mile. 19 ZIP codes fall inside it, running from 45701 to 45782, and every one of them pays the same 7.25% — Ohio municipalities cannot levy a sales tax of their own, so there is no city surcharge anywhere in the county. Athens County also borders West Virginia, where a different state's sales tax applies entirely — Ohio's 5.75% base does not follow you across the state line, but Ohio use tax generally does when you bring the item home.
Population: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimate (2023).
Calculate tax in Athens County
Calculate Ohio Sales Tax
Ohio · 2026 tax year · all 88 countiesCalculate total cost and exact Ohio state + county tax on your pre-tax purchase.
An official 2026 estimate based on Ohio Department of Taxation rate schedules (R.C. 5739.02). Actual checkout receipts round intermediate fractions per R.C. 5739.025.
Athens County sales tax by purchase amount
| Purchase | Sales Tax (7.25%) | Total |
|---|---|---|
| $1.00 | $0.07 | $1.07 |
| $5.00 | $0.36 | $5.36 |
| $10.00 | $0.73 | $10.73 |
| $25.00 | $1.81 | $26.81 |
| $50.00 | $3.63 | $53.63 |
| $100.00 | $7.25 | $107.25 |
| $500.00 | $36.25 | $536.25 |
| $1,000.00 | $72.50 | $1,072.50 |
Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt statewide, so they carry $0 tax in Athens County. Prepared food and general merchandise are taxed at 7.25%.
Athens County sales tax FAQ
Statutory guidance reconciled against official Ohio Department of Taxation regulations, county permissive levies, and R.C. 5739 sourcing rules.
The combined sales tax rate in Athens County is 7.25% in 2026. That is Ohio's 5.75% state base plus a 1.50% county and transit portion.
At 7.25%, sales tax on a $100 taxable purchase in Athens County is $7.25, for a total of $107.25.
No. Unprepared groceries and prescription drugs are exempt from Ohio sales tax statewide, so they are not taxed in Athens County. Prepared food is taxable at 7.25%.
19 Ohio ZIP codes have Athens County as their primary county, including 45701, 45710, 45711, 45716, 45717. All of them use the 7.25% combined rate. Because ZIP boundaries can cross county lines, a delivery address near the county line should be checked against Ohio's rate-by-address lookup.
Athens County borders Hocking (7.25%), Meigs (7.25%), Morgan (7.25%), Perry (7.25%), Vinton (7.25%), Washington (7.25%), plus West Virginia. None of them charge less than Athens's 7.25%.
At 7.25%, Athens County has the 8th-highest combined sales tax rate of Ohio's 88 counties, tied with 50 other counties. Statewide, combined rates run from 6.50% to 8.00%.
Counties bordering Athens County
Athens County shares a line with 6 other Ohio counties plus West Virginia. Crossing one of these lines genuinely changes the bill — though which side counts depends on who is selling: an Ohio seller charges its own county's rate on an intrastate sale, while an out-of-state or marketplace seller charges yours.
| County | Combined rate | vs Athens | Tax on $30,000.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hocking County | 7.25% | same | $2,175.00 |
| Meigs County | 7.25% | same | $2,175.00 |
| Morgan County | 7.25% | same | $2,175.00 |
| Perry County | 7.25% | same | $2,175.00 |
| Vinton County | 7.25% | same | $2,175.00 |
| Washington County | 7.25% | same | $2,175.00 |
No county bordering Athens charges less than 7.25%, so there is no cheaper neighbour to cross into.
ZIP codes in Athens County (7.25% sales tax)
19 Ohio ZIP codes have Athens County as its primary county. Every address in them pays the same 7.25% combined rate — 5.75% state plus 1.50% county and transit.
- 45701
- 45710
- 45711
- 45716
- 45717
- 45719
- 45723
- 45732
- 45735
- 45739
- 45740
- 45761
- 45764
- 45766
- 45776
- 45777
- 45778
- 45780
- 45782
ZIP codes are a USPS delivery construct and a few straddle county lines, so a border address can fall in a different taxing county than its ZIP suggests. Check any borderline address with the ZIP code sales tax lookup or Ohio's official rate-by-address finder before you file.
Compare Athens County rates
- Butler — 6.50%
- Cuyahoga — 8.00%
- Franklin — 8.00%
- Hamilton — 7.80%
- Lucas — 7.75%
- Montgomery — 7.50%
- Stark — 6.50%
- Summit — 6.75%
- Auglaize — 7.25%
- Belmont — 7.25%
- Champaign — 7.25%
- Clark — 7.25%
- Clinton — 7.25%
- Columbiana — 7.25%
- See all 88 counties →
- Browse Ohio rates by city →
Bordering counties: Compare Athens County (7.25%) with neighboring Hocking County (7.25%), Meigs County (7.25%), and Morgan County (7.25%).
Commercial sellers: Review our guide on Ohio vendor's license registration rules for Athens County businesses to stay fully aligned with state tax regulations.
Compare statewide: See where Athens County ranks across the full Ohio sales tax rates by county table.
Address verification: Some postal ZIP codes in Athens County touch adjacent counties. To look up a precise street address, use our Ohio sales tax rate by address tool.
Ohio Sales Tax Core Reference Guides:
Rate source: the 7.25% combined rate for Athens County was verified against the Ohio Department of Taxation's County Rate Table by ZIP Code on . Ohio county rates change on quarterly boundaries; for a legally definitive rate at a specific street address, use the Department's The Finder lookup — our guide to using The Finder walks through it.