North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Buncombe County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Buncombe County pays $2,222 a year, an effective rate of 0.57%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,222
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.57%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- +11%
- vs U.S. average
- #78 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Buncombe County pay a median $2,222 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.57%, more affordable than 75% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,222
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.57%
- Effective rate on median home
- #782 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +11%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($391,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 274,360. Owner-occupied homes: 67,411.
The median annual property tax in Buncombe County is $2,222, which is 17% higher than the North Carolina state average and 11% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.57% on a median home value of $391,800. Property taxes represent 3.0% of the median household income in this county.
Buncombe County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Buncombe County's 0.57% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 75%).
Decision signal 2
High among North Carolina counties by effective rate
Buncombe County ranks #78 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (22% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Buncombe County pay a median annual property tax of $2,222, notably higher than the national median and notably higher than the North Carolina state median. On a $391,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.57% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Buncombe County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $74,436 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Buncombe County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
A falling rate took the edge off
Buncombe County's effective rate fell 15.9% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 56.3%, leaving the median bill 31.5% higher at $2,222. That rate move is larger than the one in 68% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 31% from $1,690 to $2,222. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 19,853 of 67,411 owner-occupied homes (29.5%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 3.0% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Buncombe County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Buncombe County homeowners, 19,853 of 67,411 owner-occupied homes (29.5%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 10.7% (7,236)
- $800 to $1,499 18.1% (12,172)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.7% (9,889)
- $2,000 to $2,999 25.2% (16,966)
- $3,000 or more 29.5% (19,853)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,295 homes here (1.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Buncombe County, mortgaged homeowners pay 17% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Buncombe County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Buncombe County's effective rate is higher than 22% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #78 of 100.
Where Buncombe County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.57% Among the most affordable more affordable than 75% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Buncombe County moved from $1,690 in the 2020 release to $2,222 in 2024, a change of about 31%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Buncombe County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Buncombe County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.0% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Buncombe County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Carolina counties.
Buncombe County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,222 +2.7% | 0.57% |
| 2023 | $2,163 +7.5% | 0.60% |
| 2022 | $2,012 +12.3% | 0.61% |
| 2021 | $1,791 +6.0% | 0.65% |
| 2020 | $1,690 | 0.67% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Buncombe County: tax-to-income at 3.0%
Counties near Buncombe County's effective rate
On effective rate, Buncombe County sits nearest San Miguel County (NM), Stillwater County (MT), Miller County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Meeker County (MN), Bedford County (TN), Beltrami County (MN).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Buncombe County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 10,150 of 135,580 returns from Buncombe County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,058 - 35% of those reporters sat in the $200k+ AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in North Carolina
Buncombe County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Buncombe County?
- Buncombe County, North Carolina scores D (45/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is rate relief at B+ (0.57%). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in Buncombe County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Buncombe County is $2,222, an effective rate of 0.57% on a $391,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Buncombe County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Buncombe County jumped 31.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,690 to $2,222, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
- How does Buncombe County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Buncombe County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.57% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Buncombe County?
- Property taxes in Buncombe County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $74,436 median household income.
What to do with Buncombe County's QUIET rate
At Buncombe County's 0.57% effective rate, a $391,800 home implies about $2,222/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
Buncombe County ranks #78 of 100 North Carolina counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. North Carolina overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Buncombe County's QUIET effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.57%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,222/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Buncombe County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Buncombe County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Hopkins County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,221/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.00% vs Buncombe County 0.57%.
Lexington city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,224/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.81% vs Buncombe County 0.57%.
Butler County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,226/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.35% vs Buncombe County 0.57%.
Russell County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,218/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.86% vs Buncombe County 0.57%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Buncombe County stamps QUIET · MID - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Buncombe County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.