Ohio · County property tax · ACS 2024
Fairfield County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Fairfield County pays $3,289 a year, an effective rate of 1.10%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,289
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.10%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +65%
- vs U.S. average
- #34 of 88
- rank in OH
The verdict
Homeowners in Fairfield County pay a median $3,289 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.10%, more affordable than 28% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,289
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.10%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2246 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +65%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($298,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Ohio. Population: 163,453. Owner-occupied homes: 45,218.
The median annual property tax in Fairfield County is $3,289, which is 17% higher than the Ohio state average and 65% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.10% on a median home value of $298,800. Property taxes represent 3.6% of the median household income in this county.
Fairfield County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Fairfield County's 1.10% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 28%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Fairfield County pay a median annual property tax of $3,289, far above the national median and notably higher than the Ohio state median. On a $298,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.10% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Ohio counties by effective rate
Fairfield County ranks #34 of 88 counties in Ohio by effective rate (61% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Fairfield County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.6% of the $90,966 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Fairfield 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Fairfield County's effective rate fell 16.0% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 51.4%, leaving the median bill 27.2% higher at $3,289. That rate move is larger than the one in 68% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 27% from $2,586 to $3,289. 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: 24,096 of 45,218 owner-occupied homes (53.3%) 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 3.6% 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 Fairfield County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Fairfield County homeowners, 24,096 of 45,218 owner-occupied homes (53.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 5.0% (2,253)
- $800 to $1,499 11.1% (4,999)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.7% (3,941)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.6% (8,870)
- $3,000 or more 53.3% (24,096)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,059 homes here (2.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Ohio handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Fairfield County pay about the same bill, a 8% gap.
Fairfield County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Fairfield County's effective rate is higher than 61% of the 88 counties in Ohio - ranking #34 of 88.
Where Fairfield County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.10% more affordable than 28% 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
A low rate, a bigger bill
Fairfield County taxes property at 1.10%, roughly 16% below the Ohio average, and still bills a median $3,289, about 17% above the state figure. Because the effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, that combination means local home values run well ahead of the state norm: a gentler rate applied to a larger base.
Fairfield County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Fairfield County | Ohio 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 | 3.6% | - | - |
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.
Fairfield County is PAR · HEAVY on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Ohio counties.
Fairfield County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,289 +5.3% | 1.10% |
| 2023 | $3,123 +9.3% | 1.15% |
| 2022 | $2,856 +4.7% | 1.15% |
| 2021 | $2,729 +5.5% | 1.28% |
| 2020 | $2,586 | 1.31% |
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.
Fairfield County: tax-to-income at 3.6%
Counties near Fairfield County's effective rate
On effective rate, Fairfield County sits nearest Stutsman County (ND), Mercer County (ND), Nance County (NE).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Calhoun County (GA), Carlisle County (KY), Clay County (IN).
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
Fairfield County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 4,580 of 78,360 returns from Fairfield County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,215 - 39% 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 Ohio
Fairfield County rate FAQs
- How does Fairfield County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Fairfield County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.10% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Fairfield County?
- Fairfield County, Ohio scores F (30/100) 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 C (+$247). 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 Fairfield County, Ohio?
- The median annual property tax in Fairfield County is $3,289, an effective rate of 1.10% on a $298,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Fairfield County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Fairfield County jumped 27.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,586 to $3,289, 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 Fairfield County?
- Property taxes in Fairfield County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.6% of the $90,966 median household income.
What to do with Fairfield County's PAR rate
Fairfield County's $3,289 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Fairfield County ranks #34 of 88 Ohio counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Ohio overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Fairfield County's PAR 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: 1.10%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,289/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Fairfield County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Fairfield County (PAR · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR HEAVY
Fayette County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,285/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.75% vs Fairfield County 1.10%.
Minnehaha County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,281/yr (near-tied bill ABS $8); rate 1.14% vs Fairfield County 1.10%.
Scott County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,273/yr (near-tied bill ABS $16); rate 1.47% vs Fairfield County 1.10%.
Anoka County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,271/yr (near-tied bill ABS $18); rate 0.94% vs Fairfield County 1.10%.
Ohio county set
State ACS overview for every published Ohio county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Fairfield County stamps PAR · 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 Fairfield County (PAR · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.