Georgia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Hancock County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Hancock County pays $967 a year, an effective rate of 1.09%, far below the U.S. average.
- $967
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 1.09%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -51%
- vs U.S. average
- #20 of 158
- rank in GA
The verdict
Homeowners in Hancock County pay a median $967 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.09%, more affordable than 29% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $967
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.09%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2220 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 ($88,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Georgia. Population: 8,650. Owner-occupied homes: 2,316.
The median annual property tax in Hancock County is $967, which is 59% lower than the Georgia state average and 51% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.09% on a median home value of $88,600. Property taxes represent 2.4% of the median household income in this county.
Hancock County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Hancock County's 1.09% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 29%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Hancock County pay a median annual property tax of $967, far below the national median and far below the Georgia state median. On a $88,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.09% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Georgia counties by effective rate
Hancock County ranks #20 of 158 counties in Georgia by effective rate (87% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Hancock County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $40,082 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Hancock 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
Hancock County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 12.9% up, against a median home value that rose 10.2%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 24.5%, from $777 to $967.
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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $777 to $967, a gain of 24%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 956 of 2,316 owner-occupied homes (41.3%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
This county earns in the bottom quarter of the country and taxes above the median rate, so the median bill absorbs 2.4% of median household income. The rate alone understates that; it is the pairing that matters.
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 Hancock County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Hancock County homeowners, 956 of 2,316 owner-occupied homes (41.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 41.3% (956)
- $800 to $1,499 22.9% (530)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.6% (222)
- $2,000 to $2,999 11.6% (268)
- $3,000 or more 11.9% (275)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
65 homes here (2.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Georgia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Hancock County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+95%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Hancock County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Hancock County's effective rate is higher than 87% of the 158 counties in Georgia - ranking #20 of 158.
Where Hancock County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.09% more affordable than 29% 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
Hancock County taxes property at 1.09%, about 42% above the Georgia average, yet its median bill of $967 lands roughly 59% 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.
Hancock County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Hancock County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.4% | - | - |
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.
Hancock County is PAR · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Georgia counties.
Hancock County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $967 +11.3% | 1.09% |
| 2023 | $869 -11.3% | 0.99% |
| 2022 | $980 +10.9% | 1.05% |
| 2021 | $884 +13.8% | 1.06% |
| 2020 | $777 | 0.97% |
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.
Hancock County: tax-to-income at 2.4%
Counties near Hancock County's effective rate
On effective rate, Hancock County sits nearest Carroll County (IA), Coffey County (KS), Kennebec County (ME).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Jasper County (MO), Hall County (NE), Butte County (SD).
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
Hancock County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 160 of 3,370 returns from Hancock County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,138 - 31% of those reporters sat in the $25-50k 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 Georgia
Hancock County rate FAQs
- How does Hancock County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Hancock County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.09% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Hancock County, Georgia?
- The median annual property tax in Hancock County is $967, an effective rate of 1.09% on a $88,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Hancock County?
- Hancock County, Georgia scores D (48/100) 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 housing pressure at A- (2.21×). 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 Hancock County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Hancock County jumped 24.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $777 to $967, 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 Hancock County?
- Property taxes in Hancock County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $40,082 median household income.
What to do with Hancock County's PAR rate
Hancock County's $967 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 →
Hancock County ranks #20 of 158 Georgia counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Georgia overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Hancock 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: 1.09%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $967/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Hancock County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Hancock County (PAR · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR LIGHT
Butler County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Hancock County at $967/yr; rate 0.67% vs Hancock County 1.09%.
Holt County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Hancock County at $967/yr; rate 0.70% vs Hancock County 1.09%.
Starke County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Hancock County at $967/yr; rate 0.61% vs Hancock County 1.09%.
Calcasieu Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $968/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.45% vs Hancock County 1.09%.
Georgia county set
State ACS overview for every published Georgia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Hancock County stamps PAR · 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 Hancock County (PAR · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.