Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Nelson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Nelson County pays $1,622 a year, an effective rate of 0.50%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,622
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.50%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -19%
- vs U.S. average
- #111 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Nelson County pay a median $1,622 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.50%, more affordable than 84% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,622
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.50%
- Effective rate on median home
- #514 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -19%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($321,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 14,732. Owner-occupied homes: 5,070.
The median annual property tax in Nelson County is $1,622, which is 42% lower than the Virginia state average and 19% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.50% on a median home value of $321,700. Property taxes represent 2.2% of the median household income in this county.
Nelson County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Nelson County's 0.50% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 84%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Virginia median
Homeowners in Nelson County pay a median annual property tax of $1,622, notably lower than the national median and well below the Virginia state median. On a $321,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.50% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Virginia counties by effective rate
Nelson County ranks #111 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (17% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Nelson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.2% of the $72,589 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Nelson 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 10.2% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 59% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 37.8%, the median bill rose 23.7% to $1,622: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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 $1,311 to $1,622, a gain of 24%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 1,228 of 5,070 owner-occupied homes (24.2%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 2.2% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
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 Nelson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Nelson County homeowners, 1,228 of 5,070 owner-occupied homes (24.2%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 22.0% (1,115)
- $800 to $1,499 24.2% (1,228)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.1% (666)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.0% (963)
- $3,000 or more 20.5% (1,040)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
58 homes here (1.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Nelson County, mortgaged homeowners pay 19% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Nelson County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Nelson County's effective rate is higher than 17% of the 133 counties in Virginia - ranking #111 of 133.
Where Nelson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.50% Among the most affordable more affordable than 84% 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
Below Virginia on both measures
Nelson County's effective rate runs 32% under the Virginia median and its bill 42% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $1,622 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Virginia norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Nelson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Nelson County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.2% | - | - |
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.
Nelson County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Virginia counties.
Nelson County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,622 +6.9% | 0.50% |
| 2023 | $1,517 -1.4% | 0.54% |
| 2022 | $1,539 +13.1% | 0.56% |
| 2021 | $1,361 +3.8% | 0.56% |
| 2020 | $1,311 | 0.56% |
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.
Nelson County: tax-to-income at 2.2%
Counties near Nelson County's effective rate
On effective rate, Nelson County sits nearest Tipton County (TN), Polk County (TN), Lancaster County (SC).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Meade County (SD), Sebastian County (AR), Woodbury County (IA).
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
Nelson County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 530 of 7,500 returns from Nelson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,245 - 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 Virginia
Nelson County rate FAQs
- How does Nelson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Nelson County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.50% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Nelson County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Nelson County is $1,622, an effective rate of 0.50% on a $321,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Nelson County?
- Nelson County, Virginia scores C (59/100) 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- (0.50%). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Nelson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Nelson County jumped 23.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,311 to $1,622, 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 Nelson County?
- Property taxes in Nelson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.2% of the $72,589 median household income.
What to do with Nelson County's QUIET rate
Inside Virginia, Nelson County's $1,622 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Virginia overview →
Nelson County ranks #111 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 Nelson 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: 0.50%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,622/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Nelson County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Nelson County (QUIET · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Crawford County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Nelson County at $1,622/yr; rate 1.19% vs Nelson County 0.50%.
Red Lake County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Nelson County at $1,622/yr; rate 1.00% vs Nelson County 0.50%.
Rawlins County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,620/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.56% vs Nelson County 0.50%.
Sanpete County, UT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,619/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.47% vs Nelson County 0.50%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Nelson 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 Nelson County (QUIET · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.