Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Essex County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Essex County pays $1,348 a year, an effective rate of 0.57%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,348
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.57%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -32%
- vs U.S. average
- #82 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Essex County pay a median $1,348 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.57%, more affordable than 75% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,348
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.57%
- Effective rate on median home
- #782 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -32%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($238,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 10,623. Owner-occupied homes: 3,190.
The median annual property tax in Essex County is $1,348, which is 52% lower than the Virginia state average and 32% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.57% on a median home value of $238,100. Property taxes represent 2.4% of the median household income in this county.
Essex County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Essex County's 0.57% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 75%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Essex County pay a median annual property tax of $1,348, well below the national median and far below the Virginia state median. On a $238,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.57% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Virginia counties by effective rate
Essex County ranks #82 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (38% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Essex County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $56,520 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Essex 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 Essex County rose 21.2%, from $196,500 to $238,100. The effective rate fell 20.4% over the same span, a steeper move than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still fell 3.6%, to $1,348. 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
This is one of the counties where the typical bill came down, from $1,398 in 2020 to $1,348 in 2024, a fall of 4%. The source reports the change but does not distinguish among rate, value, or household-composition effects.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 989 of 3,190 owner-occupied homes (31.0%). 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 2.4% 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.
The published bill went DOWN here
Between the 2020 and 2024 ACS releases the median annual property tax in Essex County fell from $1,398 to $1,348, a change of -3.6%. Fewer than three counties in a hundred recorded any decline over this period; nearly everywhere else the published figure rose. A fall can reflect reassessment, a shifting mix of the homes surveyed, or genuine rate relief, and these estimates cannot separate those causes.
What Essex County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Essex County homeowners, 989 of 3,190 owner-occupied homes (31.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 23.2% (740)
- $800 to $1,499 31.0% (989)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.6% (531)
- $2,000 to $2,999 11.7% (373)
- $3,000 or more 13.9% (442)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
115 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Essex County pay a substantially higher bill, 37% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Essex County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Essex County's effective rate is higher than 38% of the 133 counties in Virginia - ranking #82 of 133.
Where Essex 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
Below Virginia on both measures
Essex County's effective rate runs 22% under the Virginia median and its bill 52% 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 $1,348 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Virginia norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Essex County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Essex County | Virginia 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 | 2.4% | - | - |
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.
Essex County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Virginia counties.
Essex County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,348 +2.7% | 0.57% |
| 2023 | $1,312 -4.7% | 0.57% |
| 2022 | $1,377 -4.6% | 0.63% |
| 2021 | $1,443 +3.2% | 0.68% |
| 2020 | $1,398 | 0.71% |
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.
Essex County: tax-to-income at 2.4%
Counties near Essex County's effective rate
On effective rate, Essex County sits nearest Tooele County (UT), Coffee County (TN), Cocke County (TN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Carroll County (MO), Pemiscot County (MO), Franklin Parish (LA).
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
Essex County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 370 of 5,480 returns from Essex County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,965 - 32% 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 Virginia
Essex County rate FAQs
- How does Essex County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Essex County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.57% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Essex County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Essex County is $1,348, an effective rate of 0.57% on a $238,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Essex County?
- Essex County, Virginia scores C (56/100) 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Essex County?
- Property taxes in Essex County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $56,520 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Essex County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Essex County eased 3.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,398 to $1,348, 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 to do with Essex County's QUIET rate
Essex County's $1,348 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 →
Essex County ranks #82 of 133 Virginia counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Virginia overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Essex 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: $1,348/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Essex County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Essex County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Greenwood County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Essex County at $1,348/yr; rate 1.52% vs Essex County 0.57%.
Crane County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,346/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.04% vs Essex County 0.57%.
Emery County, UT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,350/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.62% vs Essex County 0.57%.
Glasscock County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,346/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.55% vs Essex County 0.57%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Essex 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 Essex County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.