Alabama · County property tax · ACS 2024
Houston County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Houston County pays $562 a year, an effective rate of 0.31%, far below the U.S. average.
- $562
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.31%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -72%
- vs U.S. average
- #45 of 67
- rank in AL
The verdict
Homeowners in Houston County pay a median $562 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.31%, more affordable than 98% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $562
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.31%
- Effective rate on median home
- #75 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -72%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($183,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Alabama. Population: 108,140. Owner-occupied homes: 27,624.
The median annual property tax in Houston County is $562, which is 29% lower than the Alabama state average and 72% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.31% on a median home value of $183,300. Property taxes represent 1.0% of the median household income in this county.
Houston County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Houston County's 0.31% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 98% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Houston County pay a median annual property tax of $562, far below the national median and well below the Alabama state median. On a $183,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.31% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Houston County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.0% of the $58,626 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Alabama counties by effective rate
Houston County ranks #45 of 67 counties in Alabama by effective rate (33% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Houston 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 8.7% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 65% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 29.3%, the median bill rose 18.1% to $562: 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $476 to $562, a gain of 18%. 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: 15,280 of 27,624 owner-occupied homes (55.3%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Household income sits in the second quarter nationally and the effective rate in the lowest, so the median bill takes 1.0% of median household income. Both figures point the same way, which is unusual enough that the ratio above is worth reading rather than assumed.
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.
Paying off the mortgage changes the picture here
25.3% of Houston County homes owned free and clear (2,946 of 11,654) report no property tax at all, against 11.1% of homes still carrying a mortgage. A reported zero is not proof of an exemption: it can equally mean a bill paid by another party, or a reporting artefact. But a gap this size is where age- and disability-based relief usually shows up, because those programmes reach owners who have finished paying.
What Houston County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Houston County homeowners, 15,280 of 27,624 owner-occupied homes (55.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 55.3% (15,280)
- $800 to $1,499 18.7% (5,174)
- $1,500 to $1,999 3.8% (1,056)
- $2,000 to $2,999 2.9% (798)
- $3,000 or more 2.1% (591)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
4,725 homes here (17.1%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Alabama handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Houston County pay a substantially higher bill, 35% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Houston County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Houston County's effective rate is higher than 33% of the 67 counties in Alabama - ranking #45 of 67.
Where Houston County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.31% Among the most affordable more affordable than 98% 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
Among the lowest-taxed counties in the country
At 0.31%, Houston County sits in the lowest 2% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. A low rate does not by itself mean a low bill: the median here is $562, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Houston County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Houston County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.0% | - | - |
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.
Houston County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Alabama counties.
Houston County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $562 +5.2% | 0.31% |
| 2023 | $534 +4.3% | 0.30% |
| 2022 | $512 +5.1% | 0.31% |
| 2021 | $487 +2.3% | 0.33% |
| 2020 | $476 | 0.34% |
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.
Houston County: tax takes only 1.0% of income
Counties near Houston County's effective rate
On effective rate, Houston County sits nearest Delta County (CO), Hinsdale County (CO), Otero County (CO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Cape May County (NJ), Adams County (ID), Washington 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
Houston County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 2,120 of 46,710 returns from Houston County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,317 - 44% 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 Alabama
Houston County rate FAQs
- How does Houston County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Houston County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.31% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Houston County?
- Houston County, Alabama scores A (89/100) 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 rate relief at A+ (0.31%). 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 Houston County, Alabama?
- The median annual property tax in Houston County is $562, an effective rate of 0.31% on a $183,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Houston County?
- Property taxes in Houston County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.0% of the $58,626 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Houston County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Houston County climbed 18.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $476 to $562, 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 Houston County's QUIET rate
Houston County's $562 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 1.0% of Houston County's $58,626 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Houston 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: 0.31%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $562/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Houston County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Houston County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Barbour County, WV
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Houston County at $562/yr; rate 0.43% vs Houston County 0.31%.
Choctaw County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $563/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs Houston County 0.31%.
Kemper County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $563/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.57% vs Houston County 0.31%.
Leslie County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $563/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.82% vs Houston County 0.31%.
Alabama county set
State ACS overview for every published Alabama county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Houston 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 Houston County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.