West Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Kanawha County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Kanawha County pays $964 a year, an effective rate of 0.65%, far below the U.S. average.
- $964
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.65%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -52%
- vs U.S. average
- #5 of 55
- rank in WV
The verdict
Homeowners in Kanawha County pay a median $964 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.65%, more affordable than 66% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $964
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.65%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1074 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -52%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($147,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for West Virginia. Population: 176,537. Owner-occupied homes: 54,328.
The median annual property tax in Kanawha County is $964, which is 11% higher than the West Virginia state average and 52% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.65% on a median home value of $147,300. Property taxes represent 1.6% of the median household income in this county.
Kanawha County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Kanawha County's 0.65% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 66%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Kanawha County pay a median annual property tax of $964, far below the national median and notably higher than the West Virginia state median. On a $147,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.65% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among West Virginia counties by effective rate
Kanawha County ranks #5 of 55 counties in West Virginia by effective rate (91% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Kanawha County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $60,943 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Kanawha 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
Kanawha County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 5.2% down, against a median home value that rose 27.8%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 21.1%, from $796 to $964.
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 $796 to $964, a gain of 21%. 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: 20,784 of 54,328 owner-occupied homes (38.3%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 1.6% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Kanawha County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Kanawha County homeowners, 20,784 of 54,328 owner-occupied homes (38.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 38.3% (20,784)
- $800 to $1,499 32.2% (17,518)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.2% (6,068)
- $2,000 to $2,999 7.3% (3,940)
- $3,000 or more 6.2% (3,380)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,638 homes here (4.9%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how West Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Kanawha County pay a substantially higher bill, 34% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Kanawha County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Kanawha County's effective rate is higher than 91% of the 55 counties in West Virginia - ranking #5 of 55.
Where Kanawha County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.65% Among the most affordable more affordable than 66% 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
Kanawha County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Kanawha County | West Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.6% | - | - |
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.
Kanawha County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · West Virginia counties.
Kanawha County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $964 +4.6% | 0.65% |
| 2023 | $922 +1.2% | 0.68% |
| 2022 | $911 +8.5% | 0.69% |
| 2021 | $840 +5.5% | 0.71% |
| 2020 | $796 | 0.69% |
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.
Kanawha County: tax takes only 1.6% of income
Counties near Kanawha County's effective rate
On effective rate, Kanawha County sits nearest Danville city (VA), James City County (VA), Jackson County (SD).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Spotsylvania County (VA), Coffee County (AL), Waller County (TX).
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
Kanawha County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 2,220 of 80,450 returns from Kanawha County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,391 - 36% 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 West Virginia
Kanawha County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Kanawha County?
- Kanawha County, West Virginia scores B (71/100) 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 income room at A- (1.6%). 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.
- How does Kanawha County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Kanawha County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.65% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Kanawha County, West Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Kanawha County is $964, an effective rate of 0.65% on a $147,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Kanawha County?
- Property taxes in Kanawha County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $60,943 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Kanawha County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Kanawha County jumped 21.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $796 to $964, 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 Kanawha County's QUIET rate
Kanawha County's $964 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 1.6% of Kanawha County's $60,943 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Kanawha 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: 0.65%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $964/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Kanawha County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Kanawha County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Greenwood County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kanawha County at $964/yr; rate 0.53% vs Kanawha County 0.65%.
Jones County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kanawha County at $964/yr; rate 0.74% vs Kanawha County 0.65%.
Randolph County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Kanawha County at $964/yr; rate 1.07% vs Kanawha County 0.65%.
Barton County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $963/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.71% vs Kanawha County 0.65%.
West Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published West Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Kanawha 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 Kanawha County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.