North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Graham County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Graham County pays $979 a year, an effective rate of 0.57%, far below the U.S. average.
- $979
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.57%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -51%
- vs U.S. average
- #78 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Graham County pay a median $979 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.57%, more affordable than 75% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $979
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.57%
- Effective rate on median home
- #782 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -51%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($170,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 8,072. Owner-occupied homes: 2,844.
The median annual property tax in Graham County is $979, which is 48% lower than the North Carolina state average and 51% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.57% on a median home value of $170,600. Property taxes represent 2.0% of the median household income in this county.
Graham County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Graham County's 0.57% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 75%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Graham County pay a median annual property tax of $979, far below the national median and well below the North Carolina state median. On a $170,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.57% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among North Carolina counties by effective rate
Graham County ranks #78 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (22% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Graham County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $49,684 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 16.3%, from $842 to $979. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Graham 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 32% from $743 to $979. 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 1,012 of 2,844 owner-occupied homes (35.6%) 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 2.0% 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.
What Graham County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Graham County homeowners, 1,012 of 2,844 owner-occupied homes (35.6%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 35.6% (1,012)
- $800 to $1,499 30.4% (864)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.2% (431)
- $2,000 to $2,999 4.8% (136)
- $3,000 or more 4.1% (117)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
284 homes here (10.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Graham County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+61%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Graham County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Graham County's effective rate is higher than 22% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #78 of 100.
Where Graham County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.57% Among the most affordable more affordable than 75% 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 Graham County moved from $743 in the 2020 release to $979 in 2024, a change of about 32%. 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.
Graham County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Graham County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.0% | - | - |
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.
Graham County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Carolina counties.
Graham County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $979 +16.3% | 0.57% |
| 2023 | $842 -0.9% | 0.54% |
| 2022 | $850 +14.6% | 0.63% |
| 2021 | $742 -0.1% | 0.64% |
| 2020 | $743 | 0.62% |
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.
Graham County: tax takes only 2.0% of income
Counties near Graham County's effective rate
On effective rate, Graham County sits nearest San Miguel County (NM), Stillwater County (MT), Miller County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Crisp County (GA), St. Louis city (MO), Mendocino County (CA).
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
Graham County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 70 of 3,360 returns from Graham County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,171 - 57% 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 North Carolina
Graham County rate FAQs
- How does Graham County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Graham County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.57% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Graham County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Graham County is $979, an effective rate of 0.57% on a $170,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Graham County?
- Graham County, North Carolina scores C+ (63/100) 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 bill size at B+ ($979/yr). 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 Graham County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Graham County is recorded at $979 in the 2024 5-year release against $743 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 2,844 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Graham County?
- Property taxes in Graham County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $49,684 median household income.
What to do with Graham County's QUIET rate
Graham County's $979 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 2.0% of Graham County's $49,684 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Graham 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: 0.57%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $979/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Graham County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Graham County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Hooker County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Graham County at $979/yr; rate 1.04% vs Graham County 0.57%.
Pike County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Graham County at $979/yr; rate 0.67% vs Graham County 0.57%.
Clinton County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $980/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.60% vs Graham County 0.57%.
Jefferson County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $978/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.43% vs Graham County 0.57%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Graham 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 Graham County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.