West Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Gilmer County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Gilmer County pays $410 a year, an effective rate of 0.49%, far below the U.S. average.
- $410
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.49%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -79%
- vs U.S. average
- #29 of 55
- rank in WV
The verdict
Homeowners in Gilmer County pay a median $410 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.49%, more affordable than 84% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $410
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.49%
- Effective rate on median home
- #486 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -79%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($83,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Gilmer County, WV
93/100
5 ACS dimensions · release 2024
Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Median tax as a share of Gilmer County's median household income
Gilmer County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median home value relative to Gilmer County's median income
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Gilmer County
Gilmer County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Gilmer County affordability profile (scored ACS dimensions)
Read the chart values
- Income room: 100/100 (A+) · 0.9%
- Bill size: 100/100 (A+) · $410/yr
- Housing pressure: 97/100 (A+) · 1.75×
- Mortgage premium: 89/100 (A) · +$1
- Rate relief: 84/100 (A-) · 0.49%
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for West Virginia. Population: 7,288. Owner-occupied homes: 1,705.
The median annual property tax in Gilmer County is $410, which is 53% lower than the West Virginia state average and 79% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.49% on a median home value of $83,800. Property taxes represent 0.9% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Gilmer County
Primary signal
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Gilmer County pay a median annual property tax of $410, far below the national median and far below the West Virginia state median. On a $83,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.49% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Gilmer County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 0.9% of the $47,981 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Gilmer County's 0.49% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 84%).
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of West Virginia counties by effective rate
Gilmer County ranks #29 of 55 counties in West Virginia by effective rate (47% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Gilmer County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making decisions that depend on these numbers.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 7.4% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 70% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 4.9%, the median bill fell 2.8% to $410: 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
This is one of the counties where the typical bill came down, from $422 in 2020 to $410 in 2024, a fall of 3%. The source reports the change but does not distinguish among rate, value, or household-composition effects.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 1,228 of 1,705 owner-occupied homes (72.0%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 0.9% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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.
The published bill went DOWN here
Between the 2020 and 2024 ACS releases the median annual property tax in Gilmer County fell from $422 to $410, a change of -2.8%. Fewer than three counties in a hundred recorded any decline over this period; nearly everywhere else the published figure rose. A fall can reflect reassessment, a shifting mix of the homes surveyed, or genuine rate relief, and these estimates cannot separate those causes.
What Gilmer County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Gilmer County homeowners, 1,228 of 1,705 owner-occupied homes (72.0%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 72.0% (1,228)
- $800 to $1,499 10.8% (184)
- $1,500 to $1,999 1.3% (22)
- $2,000 to $2,999 3.1% (53)
- $3,000 or more 0.0% (0)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
218 homes here (12.8%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how West Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Gilmer County pay about the same bill, a 0% gap.
How Gilmer County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Gilmer County's effective rate is higher than 47% of the 55 counties in West Virginia - ranking #29 of 55 for property tax burden.
Where Gilmer County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.49% Among the most affordable more affordable than 84% 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
Same rate as West Virginia, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 8% of the West Virginia median, yet the median bill runs 53% below it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to cheaper housing produces $410 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Gilmer County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Gilmer County | West Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 0.9% | - | - |
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.
Think your Gilmer County property tax bill is too high?
On Gilmer County's published figures, a $83,800 median home carries a $410 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $41 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in West Virginia.
Property Tax History
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $410 -2.8% | 0.49% |
| 2023 | $422 -8.5% | 0.51% |
| 2022 | $461 +5.7% | 0.51% |
| 2021 | $436 +3.3% | 0.53% |
| 2020 | $422 | 0.53% |
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.
Tax Burden
Tax Affordability Score
An effective rate well below the national average of 0.92% puts Gilmer County in the "Very Affordable" band for property tax burden.
How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Gilmer County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Gilmer County sits nearest Rappahannock County (VA), Box Elder County (UT), Wayne County (TN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Bailey County (TX), Bradley County (AR), Wolfe County (KY).
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
What tax filers report in Gilmer County
Of the 2,480 federal returns filed from Gilmer County in 2022, 20 (0.8% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $1,200 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $25-50k, who accounted for 100% of the county's reporting returns.
Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in West Virginia
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Gilmer County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Gilmer County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Gilmer County, West Virginia? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Gilmer County? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Gilmer County? ▼
What to do with Gilmer County's numbers
- Gilmer County's $410 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 0.9% of Gilmer County's $47,981 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
- Gilmer County ranks #29 of 55 West Virginia counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state board. West Virginia overview →
- If Gilmer County's assessment looks high versus the $83,800 typical home, check West Virginia's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition
Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($83,800); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
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.
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Editorial standards and provenance
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Gilmer County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.