Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Fayette County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Fayette County pays $2,542 a year, an effective rate of 0.87%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,542
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.87%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +28%
- vs U.S. average
- #12 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Fayette County pay a median $2,542 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.87%, more affordable than 45% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,542
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.87%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1728 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +28%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($293,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 323,725. Owner-occupied homes: 75,121.
The median annual property tax in Fayette County is $2,542, which is 65% higher than the Kentucky state average and 28% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.87% on a median home value of $293,500. Property taxes represent 3.7% of the median household income in this county.
Fayette County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Fayette County's 0.87% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 45%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Fayette County pay a median annual property tax of $2,542, well above the national median and far above the Kentucky state median. On a $293,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.87% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Kentucky counties by effective rate
Fayette County ranks #12 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (90% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Fayette County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.7% of the $69,479 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Fayette 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 8.8% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 65% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 46.1%, the median bill rose 33.2% to $2,542: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 33% from $1,908 to $2,542. 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: 28,077 of 75,121 owner-occupied homes (37.4%) 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.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 3.7% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.
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 Fayette County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Fayette County homeowners, 28,077 of 75,121 owner-occupied homes (37.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 6.1% (4,551)
- $800 to $1,499 14.3% (10,711)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.9% (11,193)
- $2,000 to $2,999 25.4% (19,101)
- $3,000 or more 37.4% (28,077)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,488 homes here (2.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Fayette County pay about the same bill, a 4% gap.
Fayette County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Fayette County's effective rate is higher than 90% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #12 of 120.
Where Fayette County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.87% more affordable than 45% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Fayette County moved from $1,908 in the 2020 release to $2,542 in 2024, a change of about 33%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Fayette County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Fayette County | Kentucky 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 | 3.7% | - | - |
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.
Fayette County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Fayette County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,542 +4.8% | 0.87% |
| 2023 | $2,425 +6.3% | 0.89% |
| 2022 | $2,282 +12.0% | 0.92% |
| 2021 | $2,038 +6.8% | 0.94% |
| 2020 | $1,908 | 0.95% |
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.
Fayette County: tax-to-income at 3.7%
Counties near Fayette County's effective rate
On effective rate, Fayette County sits nearest Lyon County (IA), Pike County (GA), Long County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Thayer County (NE), Benton County (WA), Elmore County (ID).
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
Fayette County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 10,380 of 146,620 returns from Fayette County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,264 - 34% 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 Kentucky
Fayette County rate FAQs
- How does Fayette County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Fayette County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.87% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Fayette County?
- Fayette County, Kentucky 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 B+ (+$105). 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 Fayette County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Fayette County is $2,542, an effective rate of 0.87% on a $293,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Fayette County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Fayette County jumped 33.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,908 to $2,542, 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 Fayette County?
- Property taxes in Fayette County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.7% of the $69,479 median household income.
What to do with Fayette County's UNDER rate
Fayette County's $2,542 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Fayette County ranks #12 of 120 Kentucky counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Kentucky overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Fayette County's UNDER 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: 0.87%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,542/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Fayette County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Fayette County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Shasta County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Fayette County at $2,542/yr; rate 0.69% vs Fayette County 0.87%.
Chatham County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,541/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.84% vs Fayette County 0.87%.
Madison County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,541/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.02% vs Fayette County 0.87%.
Sibley County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,544/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.10% vs Fayette County 0.87%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Fayette County stamps UNDER · MID - 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 Fayette County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.