Tennessee · County property tax · ACS 2024
Lewis County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Lewis County pays $824 a year, an effective rate of 0.48%, far below the U.S. average.
- $824
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.48%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -59%
- vs U.S. average
- #46 of 95
- rank in TN
The verdict
Homeowners in Lewis County pay a median $824 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.48%, more affordable than 85% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $824
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.48%
- Effective rate on median home
- #459 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -59%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($173,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Tennessee. Population: 12,992. Owner-occupied homes: 4,414.
The median annual property tax in Lewis County is $824, which is 43% lower than the Tennessee state average and 59% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.48% on a median home value of $173,400. Property taxes represent 1.5% of the median household income in this county.
Lewis County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Lewis County's 0.48% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 85%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Lewis County pay a median annual property tax of $824, far below the national median and well below the Tennessee state median. On a $173,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.48% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Lewis County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $56,285 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 3.6%, from $795 to $824. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Near the middle of Tennessee counties by effective rate
Lewis County ranks #46 of 95 counties in Tennessee by effective rate (52% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Lewis 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 48% from $558 to $824. 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 2,066 of 4,414 owner-occupied homes (46.8%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 1.5% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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 Lewis County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Lewis County homeowners, 2,066 of 4,414 owner-occupied homes (46.8%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 46.8% (2,066)
- $800 to $1,499 35.3% (1,556)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.4% (505)
- $2,000 to $2,999 1.3% (57)
- $3,000 or more 1.2% (53)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
177 homes here (4.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Tennessee handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Lewis County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+73%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Lewis County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Lewis County's effective rate is higher than 52% of the 95 counties in Tennessee - ranking #46 of 95.
Where Lewis County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.48% Among the most affordable more affordable than 85% 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 Lewis County moved from $558 in the 2020 release to $824 in 2024, a change of about 48%. 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.
Lewis County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Lewis County | Tennessee Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.5% | - | - |
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.
Lewis County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Tennessee counties.
Lewis County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $824 +3.6% | 0.48% |
| 2023 | $795 +13.6% | 0.50% |
| 2022 | $700 +13.3% | 0.50% |
| 2021 | $618 +10.8% | 0.54% |
| 2020 | $558 | 0.57% |
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.
Lewis County: tax takes only 1.5% of income
Counties near Lewis County's effective rate
On effective rate, Lewis County sits nearest York County (SC), Beaufort County (SC), Curry County (OR).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (AK), Archuleta County (CO), Alpine County (CA).
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
Lewis County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 100 of 5,400 returns from Lewis County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,550 - 40% of those reporters sat in the $50-75k 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 Tennessee
Lewis County rate FAQs
- How does Lewis County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Lewis County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.48% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Lewis County?
- Lewis County, Tennessee scores B (74/100) 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 (0.48%). 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 Lewis County, Tennessee?
- The median annual property tax in Lewis County is $824, an effective rate of 0.48% on a $173,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Lewis County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Lewis County is recorded at $824 in the 2024 5-year release against $558 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 4,414 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Lewis County?
- Property taxes in Lewis County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.5% of the $56,285 median household income.
What to do with Lewis County's QUIET rate
Lewis County's $824 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 1.5% of Lewis County's $56,285 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Lewis 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: 0.48%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $824/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Lewis County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Lewis County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
DeKalb County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Lewis County at $824/yr; rate 0.35% vs Lewis County 0.48%.
Sevier County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Lewis County at $824/yr; rate 0.28% vs Lewis County 0.48%.
Craig County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $823/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.55% vs Lewis County 0.48%.
Mellette County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $825/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.98% vs Lewis County 0.48%.
Tennessee county set
State ACS overview for every published Tennessee county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Lewis 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 Lewis County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.