North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Durham County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Durham County pays $3,092 a year, an effective rate of 0.79%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,092
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.79%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +55%
- vs U.S. average
- #22 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Durham County pay a median $3,092 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.79%, more affordable than 51% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,092
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.79%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1538 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +55%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($389,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 332,353. Owner-occupied homes: 78,724.
The median annual property tax in Durham County is $3,092, which is 63% higher than the North Carolina state average and 55% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.79% on a median home value of $389,400. Property taxes represent 3.8% of the median household income in this county.
Why Durham County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Durham County pay a median annual property tax of $3,092, far above the national median and far above the North Carolina state median. On a $389,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.79% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among North Carolina counties by effective rate
Durham County ranks #22 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (78% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Durham County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.8% of the $82,316 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Durham County's 0.79% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 51%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Durham 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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Durham County rose 61.0%, from $241,800 to $389,400. The effective rate fell 25.4% over the same span, a steeper move than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 20.1%, to $3,092. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 $2,575 to $3,092, a gain of 20%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 40,337 of 78,724 owner-occupied homes (51.2%) 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.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 3.8% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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 Durham County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Durham County homeowners, 40,337 of 78,724 owner-occupied homes (51.2%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 2.6% (2,051)
- $800 to $1,499 8.1% (6,398)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.0% (8,668)
- $2,000 to $2,999 25.7% (20,213)
- $3,000 or more 51.2% (40,337)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,057 homes here (1.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Durham County pay about the same bill, a 2% gap.
Durham County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Durham County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Durham County's median bill is 63% above the North Carolina median and 55% above the U.S. median.
Above North Carolina on both measures
Durham County's effective rate runs 20% over the North Carolina median and its bill 63% over. When both move together the rate is not being offset by cheaper housing, so the $3,092 median bill is carrying the full weight of the higher rate rather than a valuation difference. This is a comparison of two published medians, not a statement about any individual parcel.
Durham County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Durham County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.8% | - | - |
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 Durham County's $3,092 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Durham County's $3,092 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $309/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for North Carolina.
Durham County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,092 +4.8% | 0.79% |
| 2023 | $2,951 +2.1% | 0.84% |
| 2022 | $2,891 +7.2% | 0.93% |
| 2021 | $2,696 +4.7% | 1.03% |
| 2020 | $2,575 | 1.06% |
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.
Durham County: tax-to-income at 3.8%
Counties near Durham County's median bill
On effective rate, Durham County sits nearest Wheeler County (NE), Lewis and Clark County (MT), Scotland County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Geauga County (OH), Philadelphia County (PA), Charlton County (GA).
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
Durham County: only 10% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 15,010 of 157,120 returns from Durham County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,890 - 37% 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
Durham County bill FAQs
- How does Durham County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Durham County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.79% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Durham County?
- Durham County, North Carolina scores F (37/100) 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 mortgage premium at A- (+$71). 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 Durham County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Durham County is $3,092, an effective rate of 0.79% on a $389,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Durham County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Durham County jumped 20.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,575 to $3,092, 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 Durham County?
- Property taxes in Durham County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.8% of the $82,316 median household income.
What to do with Durham County's HEAVY bill
Durham County's $3,092 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Durham County ranks #22 of 100 North Carolina counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. North Carolina overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Durham 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: 0.79%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,092/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Durham County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Durham County (UNDER · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER HEAVY
Aleutians West Census Area, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,090/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.71% vs Durham County 0.79%.
Carbon County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,088/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.46% vs Durham County 0.79%.
Jefferson County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,082/yr (near-tied bill ABS $10); rate 0.48% vs Durham County 0.79%.
Isanti County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,081/yr (near-tied bill ABS $11); rate 1.01% vs Durham County 0.79%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Durham 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 Durham County (UNDER · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.