Washington · County property tax · ACS 2024
Island County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Island County pays $3,999 a year, an effective rate of 0.67%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,999
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.67%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +101%
- vs U.S. average
- #31 of 39
- rank in WA
The verdict
Homeowners in Island County pay a median $3,999 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.67%, more affordable than 63% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,999
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.67%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1158 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +101%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($593,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Washington. Population: 86,836. Owner-occupied homes: 26,888.
The median annual property tax in Island County is $3,999, which is 12% lower than the Washington state average and 101% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.67% on a median home value of $593,300. Property taxes represent 4.4% of the median household income in this county.
Why Island County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Island County pay a median annual property tax of $3,999, far above the national median and notably lower than the Washington state median. On a $593,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.67% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
High among Washington counties by effective rate
Island County ranks #31 of 39 counties in Washington by effective rate (21% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Island County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.4% of the $90,551 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Island County's 0.67% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 63%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Island 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Island County's effective rate fell 14.2% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 54.9%, leaving the median bill 33.0% higher at $3,999. That rate move is larger than the one in 60% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 33% from $3,007 to $3,999. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 18,545 of 26,888 owner-occupied homes (69.0%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 4.4% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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 Island County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Island County homeowners, 18,545 of 26,888 owner-occupied homes (69.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.7% (1,258)
- $800 to $1,499 3.8% (1,015)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.2% (1,117)
- $2,000 to $2,999 16.4% (4,405)
- $3,000 or more 69.0% (18,545)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
548 homes here (2.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Washington handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Island County pay about the same bill, within a 5% gap either way.
Island County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Island County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Island County's median bill is 12% below the Washington median and 101% above the U.S. median.
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Island County moved from $3,007 in the 2020 release to $3,999 in 2024, a change of about 33%. 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.
Island County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Island County | Washington Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.4% | - | - |
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.
Is Island County's $3,999 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Island County's $3,999 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $400/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Washington.
Island County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,999 +6.2% | 0.67% |
| 2023 | $3,765 +5.9% | 0.70% |
| 2022 | $3,556 +8.7% | 0.74% |
| 2021 | $3,270 +8.7% | 0.79% |
| 2020 | $3,007 | 0.79% |
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.
Island County: tax takes 4.4% of income
Counties near Island County's median bill
On effective rate, Island County sits nearest Waynesboro city (VA), Lake County (TN), Richland County (SC).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Cherokee County (TX), Faribault County (MN), Butts County (GA).
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
Island County: only 10% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 4,260 of 43,180 returns from Island County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,447 - 34% 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 Washington
Island County bill FAQs
- How does Island County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Island County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.67% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Island County, Washington?
- The median annual property tax in Island County is $3,999, an effective rate of 0.67% on a $593,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Island County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Island County jumped 33.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,007 to $3,999, 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 Island County?
- Property taxes in Island County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.4% of the $90,551 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Island County?
- Island County, Washington scores F (38/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-220). 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 to do with Island County's HEAVY bill
Island County's $3,999 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Island County ranks #31 of 39 Washington counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Washington overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Island County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.67%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,999/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Island County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Island County (QUIET · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET HEAVY
Boulder County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,998/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.53% vs Island County 0.67%.
Green County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,003/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.60% vs Island County 0.67%.
Jefferson County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,005/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 1.46% vs Island County 0.67%.
York County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,006/yr (near-tied bill ABS $7); rate 1.61% vs Island County 0.67%.
Washington county set
State ACS overview for every published Washington county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Island County stamps QUIET · HEAVY - 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 Island County (QUIET · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.