West Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Fayette County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Fayette County pays $676 a year, an effective rate of 0.64%, far below the U.S. average.
- $676
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.64%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -66%
- vs U.S. average
- #6 of 55
- rank in WV
The verdict
Homeowners in Fayette County pay a median $676 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.64%, more affordable than 67% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $676
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.64%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1040 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -66%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($105,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for West Virginia. Population: 39,519. Owner-occupied homes: 12,387.
The median annual property tax in Fayette County is $676, which is 22% lower than the West Virginia state average and 66% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.64% on a median home value of $105,800. Property taxes represent 1.3% 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 0.64% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 67%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Fayette County pay a median annual property tax of $676, far below the national median and notably lower than the West Virginia state median. On a $105,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.64% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among West Virginia counties by effective rate
Fayette County ranks #6 of 55 counties in West Virginia by effective rate (89% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Fayette County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $53,194 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.
The rate held while the market moved
Fayette County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 4.3% down, against a median home value that rose 11.3%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 6.5%, from $635 to $676.
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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $635 to $676, a change of 6%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 6,700 of 12,387 owner-occupied homes (54.1%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Incomes here are in the lowest quarter nationally while the rate sits just below the middle, and the median bill lands at 1.3% of median household income. The rate reads as unremarkable in a national ranking; the earnings behind it are not, and the ratio above is where the two meet.
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, 6,700 of 12,387 owner-occupied homes (54.1%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 54.1% (6,700)
- $800 to $1,499 23.6% (2,922)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.0% (1,114)
- $2,000 to $2,999 2.2% (275)
- $3,000 or more 2.3% (291)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,085 homes here (8.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how West Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Fayette County pay a substantially higher bill, 53% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
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 89% of the 55 counties in West Virginia - ranking #6 of 55.
Where Fayette County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.64% Among the most affordable more affordable than 67% 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 high rate, a smaller bill
Fayette County taxes property at 0.64%, about 21% above the West Virginia average, yet its median bill of $676 lands roughly 22% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Fayette County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Fayette County | West Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.3% | - | - |
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 QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · West Virginia counties.
Fayette County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $676 -2.0% | 0.64% |
| 2023 | $690 +2.1% | 0.66% |
| 2022 | $676 +6.6% | 0.66% |
| 2021 | $634 -0.2% | 0.66% |
| 2020 | $635 | 0.67% |
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 takes only 1.3% of income
Counties near Fayette County's effective rate
On effective rate, Fayette County sits nearest Ferry County (WA), York County (VA), Page County (VA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Martin County (TX), Clark County (MO), Harper County (KS).
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 1% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 210 of 16,420 returns from Fayette County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,905 - 33% 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 West Virginia
Fayette County rate FAQs
- How does Fayette County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Fayette County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.64% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Fayette County?
- Fayette County, West Virginia scores B+ (78/100) 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 income room at A+ (1.3%). 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, West Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Fayette County is $676, an effective rate of 0.64% on a $105,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Fayette County?
- Property taxes in Fayette County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $53,194 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Fayette County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Fayette County ticked up 6.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $635 to $676, 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 Fayette County's QUIET rate
Fayette County's $676 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 →
Income burden is light here: about 1.3% of Fayette County's $53,194 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Fayette 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: 0.64%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $676/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 (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
San Augustine County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Fayette County at $676/yr; rate 0.68% vs Fayette County 0.64%.
Shannon County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Fayette County at $676/yr; rate 0.43% vs Fayette County 0.64%.
Carter County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $677/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.42% vs Fayette County 0.64%.
Coffee County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $677/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.36% vs Fayette County 0.64%.
Cottle County (rate-lane contrast)
Near Fayette County on ACS median bill yet stamps a different effective-rate lane (1.15% vs 0.64%).
West Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published West Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Fayette 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 Fayette County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.