North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Johnston County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Johnston County pays $1,908 a year, an effective rate of 0.62%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,908
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.62%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -4%
- vs U.S. average
- #60 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Johnston County pay a median $1,908 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.62%, more affordable than 69% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,908
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.62%
- Effective rate on median home
- #974 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -4%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($305,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 234,263. Owner-occupied homes: 65,092.
The median annual property tax in Johnston County is $1,908, which is 1% higher than the North Carolina state average and 4% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.62% on a median home value of $305,600. Property taxes represent 2.3% of the median household income in this county.
Johnston County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Johnston County's 0.62% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 69%).
Decision signal 2
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Johnston County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $83,384 median household income.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of North Carolina counties by effective rate
Johnston County ranks #60 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (40% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The bill is near the usual comparison points
Homeowners in Johnston County pay a median annual property tax of $1,908, modestly below the national median and roughly in line with the North Carolina state median. On a $305,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.62% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Johnston 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 gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Johnston County rose 69.6%, from $180,200 to $305,600. The effective rate fell 24.9% over the same span, a steeper move than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 27.3%, to $1,908. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 27% from $1,499 to $1,908. 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 plurality of owner-occupied homes here falls in the $2,000 to $2,999 band, at 17,842 of 65,092 (27.4%). This shows the reported distribution around the county median, while individual assessments can vary.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 2.3% 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 Johnston County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Johnston County homeowners, 17,842 of 65,092 owner-occupied homes (27.4%), pays $2,000 to $2,999 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 9.4% (6,130)
- $800 to $1,499 23.5% (15,281)
- $1,500 to $1,999 19.3% (12,559)
- $2,000 to $2,999 27.4% (17,842)
- $3,000 or more 17.7% (11,490)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,790 homes here (2.7%) 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 Johnston County pay a substantially higher bill, 39% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Johnston County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Johnston County's effective rate is higher than 40% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #60 of 100.
Where Johnston County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.62% Among the most affordable more affordable than 69% 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 Johnston County moved from $1,499 in the 2020 release to $1,908 in 2024, a change of about 27%. 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.
Johnston County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Johnston County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.3% | - | - |
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.
Johnston County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Carolina counties.
Johnston County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,908 +3.7% | 0.62% |
| 2023 | $1,840 +4.9% | 0.69% |
| 2022 | $1,754 +10.0% | 0.73% |
| 2021 | $1,595 +6.4% | 0.79% |
| 2020 | $1,499 | 0.83% |
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.
Johnston County: tax-to-income at 2.3%
Counties near Johnston County's effective rate
On effective rate, Johnston County sits nearest Valencia County (NM), Pershing County (NV), Eureka County (NV).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Putnam County (WV), Franklin County (TN), Cass County (IN).
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
Johnston County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 6,370 of 106,570 returns from Johnston County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,488 - 38% 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
Johnston County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Johnston County?
- Johnston County, North Carolina scores D (49/100) 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 B- (0.62%). 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 Johnston County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Johnston County is $1,908, an effective rate of 0.62% on a $305,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Johnston County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Johnston County jumped 27.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,499 to $1,908, 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 Johnston County?
- Property taxes in Johnston County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $83,384 median household income.
- How does Johnston County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Johnston County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.62% versus 0.92% nationally.
What to do with Johnston County's QUIET rate
At Johnston County's 0.62% effective rate, a $305,600 home implies about $1,908/yr - plug in your own assessed value rather than quoting the county median. Estimate your bill →
Johnston County ranks #60 of 100 North Carolina counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. North Carolina overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Johnston 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: 0.62%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,908/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Johnston County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Johnston County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Scott County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Johnston County at $1,908/yr; rate 0.66% vs Johnston County 0.62%.
Toole County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Johnston County at $1,908/yr; rate 0.87% vs Johnston County 0.62%.
Freeborn County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,907/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.11% vs Johnston County 0.62%.
Marinette County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,907/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.20% vs Johnston County 0.62%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Johnston County stamps QUIET · MID - 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 Johnston County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.