Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Fairfax city Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Fairfax city pays $6,515 a year, an effective rate of 0.90%, far above the U.S. average.
- $6,515
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.90%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +227%
- vs U.S. average
- #17 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Fairfax city pay a median $6,515 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.90%, more affordable than 43% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $6,515
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.90%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1794 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +227%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($722,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 25,026. Owner-occupied homes: 6,399.
The median annual property tax in Fairfax city is $6,515, which is 134% higher than the Virginia state average and 227% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.90% on a median home value of $722,600. Property taxes represent 4.9% of the median household income in this county.
Why Fairfax city's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Fairfax city pay a median annual property tax of $6,515, far above the national median and far above the Virginia state median. On a $722,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.90% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Virginia counties by effective rate
Fairfax city ranks #17 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (87% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Fairfax city run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.9% of the $132,348 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Fairfax city's 0.90% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 43%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Fairfax city 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 held while the market moved
Fairfax city sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 2.4% down, against a median home value that rose 23.1%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 20.2%, from $5,421 to $6,515.
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 $5,421 to $6,515, 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: 5,479 of 6,399 owner-occupied homes (85.6%) 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 4.9% 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 Fairfax city Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Fairfax city homeowners, 5,479 of 6,399 owner-occupied homes (85.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 1.6% (103)
- $800 to $1,499 1.7% (106)
- $1,500 to $1,999 0.6% (38)
- $2,000 to $2,999 6.9% (440)
- $3,000 or more 85.6% (5,479)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
233 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 and non-mortgaged homeowners in Fairfax city pay about the same bill, a 2% gap.
Fairfax city's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Fairfax city's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Fairfax city's median bill is 134% above the Virginia median and 227% above the U.S. median.
Above Virginia on both measures
Fairfax city's effective rate runs 23% over the Virginia median and its bill 134% over. When both move together the rate is not being offset by cheaper housing, so the $6,515 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.
Fairfax city vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Fairfax city | Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.9% | - | - |
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 Fairfax city's $6,515 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Fairfax city's $6,515 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $652/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Virginia.
Fairfax city bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $6,515 +1.9% | 0.90% |
| 2023 | $6,392 +4.5% | 0.94% |
| 2022 | $6,115 +8.5% | 0.94% |
| 2021 | $5,638 +4.0% | 0.94% |
| 2020 | $5,421 | 0.92% |
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.
Fairfax city: tax takes 4.9% of income
Counties near Fairfax city's median bill
On effective rate, Fairfax city sits nearest San Saba County (TX), Polk County (TX), Umatilla County (OR).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Hale County (TX), Jefferson County (OH), Sumter 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
Fairfax city: only 18% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 2,500 of 13,540 returns from Fairfax city reported real estate taxes, averaging $7,423 - 38% 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 Virginia
Fairfax city bill FAQs
- How does Fairfax city property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Fairfax city run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.90% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Fairfax city, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Fairfax city is $6,515, an effective rate of 0.90% on a $722,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Fairfax city?
- Property taxes in Fairfax city run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.9% of the $132,348 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Fairfax city?
- Fairfax city, Virginia scores F (26/100) 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 B (+$140). 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 Fairfax city?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Fairfax city jumped 20.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $5,421 to $6,515, 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 Fairfax city's SPIKE bill
Fairfax city's $6,515 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Fairfax city ranks #17 of 133 Virginia counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Virginia overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Fairfax city's SPIKE 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: 0.90%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $6,515/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Fairfax city
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Fairfax city (UNDER · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER SPIKE
Tompkins County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Fairfax city at $6,515/yr; rate 2.24% vs Fairfax city 0.90%.
Plymouth County, MA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,502/yr (near-tied bill ABS $13); rate 1.17% vs Fairfax city 0.90%.
Santa Cruz County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,538/yr (near-tied bill ABS $23); rate 0.64% vs Fairfax city 0.90%.
Ocean County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · $6,562/yr (near-tied bill ABS $47); rate 1.65% vs Fairfax city 0.90%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Fairfax city stamps UNDER · SPIKE - 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 Fairfax city (UNDER · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.