Georgia · County property tax · ACS 2024
DeKalb County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in DeKalb County pays $3,310 a year, an effective rate of 0.93%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,310
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.93%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +66%
- vs U.S. average
- #54 of 158
- rank in GA
The verdict
Homeowners in DeKalb County pay a median $3,310 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.93%, more affordable than 41% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,310
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.93%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1861 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +66%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($357,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Georgia. Population: 765,351. Owner-occupied homes: 168,868.
The median annual property tax in DeKalb County is $3,310, which is 41% higher than the Georgia state average and 66% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.93% on a median home value of $357,800. Property taxes represent 4.1% of the median household income in this county.
Why DeKalb County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in DeKalb County pay a median annual property tax of $3,310, far above the national median and well above the Georgia state median. On a $357,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.93% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in DeKalb County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.1% of the $80,644 median household income.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Georgia counties by effective rate
DeKalb County ranks #54 of 158 counties in Georgia by effective rate (66% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
DeKalb County's 0.93% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 41%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in DeKalb 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 9.8% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 61% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 52.1%, the median bill rose 37.1% to $3,310: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 37% from $2,414 to $3,310. 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: 88,418 of 168,868 owner-occupied homes (52.4%) 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.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 4.1% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 DeKalb County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of DeKalb County homeowners, 88,418 of 168,868 owner-occupied homes (52.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.6% (12,791)
- $800 to $1,499 11.1% (18,762)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.6% (14,473)
- $2,000 to $2,999 17.4% (29,338)
- $3,000 or more 52.4% (88,418)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
5,086 homes here (3.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Georgia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In DeKalb County, mortgaged homeowners pay 21% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
DeKalb County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around DeKalb County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
DeKalb County's median bill is 41% above the Georgia median and 66% above the U.S. median.
What changed since 2020
The median bill in DeKalb County moved from $2,414 in the 2020 release to $3,310 in 2024, a change of about 37%. 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.
DeKalb County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | DeKalb County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.1% | - | - |
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.
Is DeKalb County's $3,310 median bill appeal-worthy?
At DeKalb County's $3,310 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $331/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Georgia.
DeKalb County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,310 +8.7% | 0.93% |
| 2023 | $3,046 +6.7% | 0.92% |
| 2022 | $2,856 +9.8% | 0.95% |
| 2021 | $2,601 +7.7% | 1.02% |
| 2020 | $2,414 | 1.03% |
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.
DeKalb County: tax takes 4.1% of income
Counties near DeKalb County's median bill
On effective rate, DeKalb County sits nearest St. Lucie County (FL), Grant County (MN), Jackson County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are McIntosh County (ND), Tishomingo County (MS), Lancaster County (SC).
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
DeKalb County: only 12% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 44,290 of 360,200 returns from DeKalb County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,370 - 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 Georgia
DeKalb County bill FAQs
- How does DeKalb County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in DeKalb County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.93% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in DeKalb County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for DeKalb County jumped 37.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,414 to $3,310, 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 is the tax affordability score for DeKalb County?
- DeKalb County, Georgia scores F (23/100) 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 D (0.93%). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in DeKalb County?
- Property taxes in DeKalb County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.1% of the $80,644 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in DeKalb County, Georgia?
- The median annual property tax in DeKalb County is $3,310, an effective rate of 0.93% on a $357,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
What to do with DeKalb County's HEAVY bill
DeKalb County's $3,310 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
DeKalb County ranks #54 of 158 Georgia counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Georgia overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for DeKalb County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.93%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,310/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with DeKalb County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for DeKalb County (UNDER · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER HEAVY
Lebanon County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with DeKalb County at $3,310/yr; rate 1.37% vs DeKalb County 0.93%.
Ottawa County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,313/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.02% vs DeKalb County 0.93%.
Union County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,317/yr (near-tied bill ABS $7); rate 1.10% vs DeKalb County 0.93%.
Calaveras County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,319/yr (near-tied bill ABS $9); rate 0.73% vs DeKalb County 0.93%.
Georgia county set
State ACS overview for every published Georgia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
DeKalb County stamps UNDER · HEAVY - 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 DeKalb County (UNDER · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.