North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Burke County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Burke County pays $1,253 a year, an effective rate of 0.68%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,253
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.68%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -37%
- vs U.S. average
- #42 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Burke County pay a median $1,253 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.68%, more affordable than 62% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,253
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.68%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1192 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -37%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($185,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 87,795. Owner-occupied homes: 27,054.
The median annual property tax in Burke County is $1,253, which is 34% lower than the North Carolina state average and 37% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.68% on a median home value of $185,400. Property taxes represent 2.1% of the median household income in this county.
Burke County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Burke County's 0.68% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 62%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Burke County pay a median annual property tax of $1,253, well below the national median and well below the North Carolina state median. On a $185,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.68% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Burke County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $58,592 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of North Carolina counties by effective rate
Burke County ranks #42 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (58% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Burke 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
Burke County's effective rate fell 14.5% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 53.7%, leaving the median bill 31.5% higher at $1,253. That rate move is larger than the one in 61% 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 $953 to $1,253. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 8,720 of 27,054 owner-occupied homes (32.2%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 2.1% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Burke County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Burke County homeowners, 8,720 of 27,054 owner-occupied homes (32.2%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 26.9% (7,274)
- $800 to $1,499 32.2% (8,720)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.8% (3,732)
- $2,000 to $2,999 13.2% (3,582)
- $3,000 or more 10.1% (2,742)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,004 homes here (3.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Burke County, mortgaged homeowners pay 29% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Burke County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Burke County's effective rate is higher than 58% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #42 of 100.
Where Burke County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.68% Among the most affordable more affordable than 62% 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 Burke County moved from $953 in the 2020 release to $1,253 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.
Burke County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Burke County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.1% | - | - |
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.
Burke County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Carolina counties.
Burke County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,253 +5.2% | 0.68% |
| 2023 | $1,191 +6.3% | 0.70% |
| 2022 | $1,120 +11.7% | 0.72% |
| 2021 | $1,003 +5.2% | 0.78% |
| 2020 | $953 | 0.79% |
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.
Burke County: tax-to-income at 2.1%
Counties near Burke County's effective rate
On effective rate, Burke County sits nearest San Juan County (NM), Grant County (NE), Powder River County (MT).
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
Burke County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,280 of 39,030 returns from Burke County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,828 - 33% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k 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
Burke County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Burke County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Burke County is $1,253, an effective rate of 0.68% on a $185,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Burke County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Burke County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.68% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Burke County?
- Burke County, North Carolina scores C (59/100) 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 bill size at B- ($1,253/yr). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Burke County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Burke County jumped 31.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $953 to $1,253, 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.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Burke County?
- Property taxes in Burke County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $58,592 median household income.
What to do with Burke County's QUIET rate
Burke County's $1,253 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Burke County ranks #42 of 100 North Carolina counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. North Carolina overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Burke 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: 0.68%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,253/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Burke County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Burke County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Faulkner County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Burke County at $1,253/yr; rate 0.54% vs Burke County 0.68%.
Coleman County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,252/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.35% vs Burke County 0.68%.
Jefferson County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,252/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.64% vs Burke County 0.68%.
Lee County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,252/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs Burke County 0.68%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Burke County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - 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 Burke County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.