North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Cherokee County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Cherokee County pays $1,064 a year, an effective rate of 0.46%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,064
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.46%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -47%
- vs U.S. average
- #92 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Cherokee County pay a median $1,064 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.46%, more affordable than 88% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,064
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.46%
- Effective rate on median home
- #389 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -47%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($232,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Cherokee County, NC
70/100
5 ACS dimensions · release 2024
Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Cherokee County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Cherokee County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Cherokee County
Median tax as a share of Cherokee County's median household income
Median home value relative to Cherokee County's median income
Cherokee County affordability profile (scored ACS dimensions)
Read the chart values
- Rate relief: 88/100 (A) · 0.46%
- Bill size: 74/100 (B) · $1,064/yr
- Mortgage premium: 69/100 (B-) · +$170
- Income room: 67/100 (B-) · 2.0%
- Housing pressure: 16/100 (F) · 4.33×
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 29,562. Owner-occupied homes: 11,083.
The median annual property tax in Cherokee County is $1,064, which is 44% lower than the North Carolina state average and 47% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.46% on a median home value of $232,300. Property taxes represent 2.0% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Cherokee County
Primary signal
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Cherokee County pay a median annual property tax of $1,064, well below the national median and well below the North Carolina state median. On a $232,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.46% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
High among North Carolina counties by effective rate
Cherokee County ranks #92 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (8% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Cherokee County's 0.46% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 88%).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Cherokee County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $53,628 median household income.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Cherokee County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making decisions that depend on these numbers.
A falling rate took the edge off
Cherokee County's effective rate fell 14.4% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 41.7%, leaving the median bill 21.3% higher at $1,064. 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $877 to $1,064, a gain of 21%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 4,216 of 11,083 owner-occupied homes (38.0%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 2.0% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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 Cherokee County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Cherokee County homeowners, 4,216 of 11,083 owner-occupied homes (38.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 32.3% (3,579)
- $800 to $1,499 38.0% (4,216)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.5% (1,612)
- $2,000 to $2,999 9.8% (1,091)
- $3,000 or more 3.0% (331)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
254 homes here (2.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Cherokee 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.
How Cherokee County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Cherokee County's effective rate is higher than 8% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #92 of 100 for property tax burden.
Where Cherokee County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.46% Among the most affordable more affordable than 88% 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
Below North Carolina on both measures
Cherokee County's effective rate runs 30% under the North Carolina median and its bill 44% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $1,064 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the North Carolina norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Cherokee County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Cherokee County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.0% | - | - |
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.
Think your Cherokee County property tax bill is too high?
On Cherokee County's published figures, a $232,300 median home carries a $1,064 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $106 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in North Carolina.
Property Tax History
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,064 +1.8% | 0.46% |
| 2023 | $1,045 +4.3% | 0.50% |
| 2022 | $1,002 +13.0% | 0.52% |
| 2021 | $887 +1.1% | 0.54% |
| 2020 | $877 | 0.54% |
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.
Tax Burden
Tax Affordability Score
An effective rate far below the national average of 0.92% puts Cherokee County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.
How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Cherokee County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Cherokee County sits nearest Grant County (NM), Lyon County (NV), Ripley County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Schuylkill County (PA), Hardin County (IL), Pontotoc County (MS).
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
What tax filers report in Cherokee County
Of the 12,940 federal returns filed from Cherokee County in 2022, 430 (3.3% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $3,030 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 35% of the county's reporting returns.
Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in North Carolina
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Cherokee County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Cherokee County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Cherokee County? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Cherokee County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Cherokee County, North Carolina? ▼
What to do with Cherokee County's numbers
- Cherokee County's $1,064 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 →
- Income burden is light here: about 2.0% of Cherokee County's $53,628 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
- Cherokee County ranks #92 of 100 North Carolina counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state board. North Carolina overview →
- If Cherokee County's assessment looks high versus the $232,300 typical home, check North Carolina's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition
Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($232,300); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
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.
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Editorial standards and provenance
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Cherokee County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.