Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Fairfax County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Fairfax County pays $7,368 a year, an effective rate of 1.01%, far above the U.S. average.
- $7,368
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.01%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +270%
- vs U.S. average
- #5 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Fairfax County pay a median $7,368 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.01%, more affordable than 34% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $7,368
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.01%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2058 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +270%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($732,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 1,147,837. Owner-occupied homes: 284,195.
The median annual property tax in Fairfax County is $7,368, which is 164% higher than the Virginia state average and 270% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.01% on a median home value of $732,800. Property taxes represent 4.8% of the median household income in this county.
Why Fairfax County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Fairfax County pay a median annual property tax of $7,368, far above the national median and far above the Virginia state median. On a $732,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.01% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Virginia counties by effective rate
Fairfax County ranks #5 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (96% 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 County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.8% of the $153,637 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Fairfax County's 1.01% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 34%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Fairfax 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 held while the market moved
Fairfax County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 4.5% down, against a median home value that rose 27.1%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 21.4%, from $6,070 to $7,368.
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 $6,070 to $7,368, 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 248,856 of 284,195 owner-occupied homes (87.6%) 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 4.8% 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.
Fairfax County is an outlier inside Virginia
Across the 133 Virginia counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 0.65%. Fairfax County is at 1.01%, which sits 2.1 standard deviations above that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What Fairfax County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Fairfax County homeowners, 248,856 of 284,195 owner-occupied homes (87.6%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 1.8% (5,201)
- $800 to $1,499 1.6% (4,566)
- $1,500 to $1,999 1.3% (3,603)
- $2,000 to $2,999 4.8% (13,688)
- $3,000 or more 87.6% (248,856)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
8,281 homes here (2.9%) 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 County pay about the same bill, within a 6% gap either way.
Fairfax County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Fairfax County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Fairfax County's median bill is 164% above the Virginia median and 270% above the U.S. median.
Above Virginia on both measures
Fairfax County's effective rate runs 38% over the Virginia median and its bill 164% over. When both move together the rate is not being offset by cheaper housing, so the $7,368 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 County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Fairfax County | 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 | 4.8% | - | - |
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 Fairfax County's $7,368 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Fairfax County's $7,368 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $737/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Virginia.
Fairfax County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $7,368 +4.2% | 1.01% |
| 2023 | $7,072 +3.3% | 1.01% |
| 2022 | $6,843 +7.8% | 1.03% |
| 2021 | $6,349 +4.6% | 1.07% |
| 2020 | $6,070 | 1.05% |
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 County: tax takes 4.8% of income
Counties near Fairfax County's median bill
On effective rate, Fairfax County sits nearest Shelby County (TX), Robertson County (TX), Red River County (TX).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Whitman County (WA), Custer County (NE), Cherokee 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 County: only 20% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 116,770 of 577,330 returns from Fairfax County reported real estate taxes, averaging $9,555 - 46% 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 County bill FAQs
- How does Fairfax County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Fairfax County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.01% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Fairfax County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Fairfax County is $7,368, an effective rate of 1.01% on a $732,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Fairfax County?
- Property taxes in Fairfax County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.8% of the $153,637 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Fairfax County?
- Fairfax County, Virginia scores F (28/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-471). 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 County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Fairfax County jumped 21.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $6,070 to $7,368, 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 County's SPIKE bill
Fairfax County's $7,368 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 County ranks #5 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 County'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: 1.01%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $7,368/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Fairfax County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Fairfax County (PAR · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR SPIKE
Kane County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,382/yr (near-tied bill ABS $14); rate 2.26% vs Fairfax County 1.01%.
McHenry County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,274/yr (lower bill ABS $94); rate 2.36% vs Fairfax County 1.01%.
Teton County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,267/yr (lower bill ABS $101); rate 0.44% vs Fairfax County 1.01%.
Norfolk County, MA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $7,261/yr (lower bill ABS $107); rate 1.06% vs Fairfax County 1.01%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Fairfax County stamps PAR · 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 County (PAR · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.