Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Mathews County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Mathews County pays $1,547 a year, an effective rate of 0.43%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,547
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.43%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -22%
- vs U.S. average
- #130 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Mathews County pay a median $1,547 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.43%, more affordable than 91% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,547
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.43%
- Effective rate on median home
- #292 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -22%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($360,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 8,540. Owner-occupied homes: 3,351.
The median annual property tax in Mathews County is $1,547, which is 45% lower than the Virginia state average and 22% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.43% on a median home value of $360,900. Property taxes represent 2.0% of the median household income in this county.
Mathews County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Mathews County's 0.43% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 91% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
High among Virginia counties by effective rate
Mathews County ranks #130 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (2% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the Virginia median
Homeowners in Mathews County pay a median annual property tax of $1,547, notably lower than the national median and well below the Virginia state median. On a $360,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.43% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Mathews County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $75,880 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Mathews 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 Mathews County rose 35.9%, from $265,600 to $360,900. The effective rate fell 29.8% over the same span, a steeper move than in 97% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still fell 4.6%, to $1,547. 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
This is one of the counties where the typical bill came down, from $1,621 in 2020 to $1,547 in 2024, a fall of 5%. The source reports the change but does not distinguish among rate, value, or household-composition effects.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 1,158 of 3,351 owner-occupied homes (34.6%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 2.0% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
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.
The published bill went DOWN here
Between the 2020 and 2024 ACS releases the median annual property tax in Mathews County fell from $1,621 to $1,547, a change of -4.6%. Fewer than three counties in a hundred recorded any decline over this period; nearly everywhere else the published figure rose. A fall can reflect reassessment, a shifting mix of the homes surveyed, or genuine rate relief, and these estimates cannot separate those causes.
What Mathews County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Mathews County homeowners, 1,158 of 3,351 owner-occupied homes (34.6%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 13.9% (465)
- $800 to $1,499 34.6% (1,158)
- $1,500 to $1,999 10.5% (353)
- $2,000 to $2,999 22.1% (739)
- $3,000 or more 17.8% (597)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
39 homes here (1.2%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Mathews County, mortgaged homeowners pay 15% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Mathews County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Mathews County's effective rate is higher than 2% of the 133 counties in Virginia - ranking #130 of 133.
Where Mathews County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.43% Among the most affordable more affordable than 91% 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 0.43%, Mathews County sits in the lowest 9% 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 $1,547, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Mathews County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Mathews County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.0% | - | - |
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.
Mathews County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Virginia counties.
Mathews County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,547 +4.9% | 0.43% |
| 2023 | $1,475 -11.7% | 0.42% |
| 2022 | $1,670 +15.7% | 0.47% |
| 2021 | $1,444 -10.9% | 0.51% |
| 2020 | $1,621 | 0.61% |
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.
Mathews County: tax-to-income at 2.0%
Counties near Mathews County's effective rate
On effective rate, Mathews County sits nearest Rhea County (TN), Marion County (TN), Knox County (TN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Hickman County (KY), Thomas County (NE), Bristol Bay Borough (AK).
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
Mathews County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 320 of 4,300 returns from Mathews County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,725 - 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 Virginia
Mathews County rate FAQs
- How does Mathews County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Mathews County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.43% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Mathews County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Mathews County is $1,547, an effective rate of 0.43% on a $360,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Mathews County?
- Mathews County, Virginia scores C+ (64/100) 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+ (0.43%). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Mathews County?
- Property taxes in Mathews County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.0% of the $75,880 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Mathews County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Mathews County eased 4.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,621 to $1,547, 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 Mathews County's QUIET rate
Inside Virginia, Mathews County's $1,547 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Virginia overview →
Mathews County ranks #130 of 133 Virginia counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Virginia overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Mathews 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: 0.43%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,547/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Mathews County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Mathews County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Custer County, CO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Mathews County at $1,547/yr; rate 0.39% vs Mathews County 0.43%.
Callaway County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,548/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.77% vs Mathews County 0.43%.
Henderson County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,548/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.90% vs Mathews County 0.43%.
Platte County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,549/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.52% vs Mathews County 0.43%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Mathews 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 Mathews County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.