Alabama · County property tax · ACS 2024
Pickens County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Pickens County pays $364 a year, an effective rate of 0.29%, far below the U.S. average.
- $364
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.29%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -82%
- vs U.S. average
- #53 of 67
- rank in AL
The verdict
Homeowners in Pickens County pay a median $364 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.29%, more affordable than 98% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $364
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.29%
- Effective rate on median home
- #54 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -82%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($123,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Alabama. Population: 18,721. Owner-occupied homes: 5,128.
The median annual property tax in Pickens County is $364, which is 54% lower than the Alabama state average and 82% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.29% on a median home value of $123,900. Property taxes represent 0.8% of the median household income in this county.
Pickens County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Pickens County's 0.29% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 98% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Pickens County pay a median annual property tax of $364, far below the national median and far below the Alabama state median. On a $123,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.29% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Pickens County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 0.8% of the $46,274 median household income.
Decision signal 4
High among Alabama counties by effective rate
Pickens County ranks #53 of 67 counties in Alabama by effective rate (21% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Pickens 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 11.5% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 53% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 23.9%, the median bill rose 9.6% to $364: 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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $332 to $364, a change of 10%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 3,088 of 5,128 owner-occupied homes (60.2%) 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 0.8% 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.
Paying off the mortgage changes the picture here
30.8% of Pickens County homes owned free and clear (1,007 of 3,265) report no property tax at all, against 21.7% of homes still carrying a mortgage. A reported zero is not proof of an exemption: it can equally mean a bill paid by another party, or a reporting artefact. But a gap this size is where age- and disability-based relief usually shows up, because those programmes reach owners who have finished paying.
What Pickens County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Pickens County homeowners, 3,088 of 5,128 owner-occupied homes (60.2%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 60.2% (3,088)
- $800 to $1,499 7.2% (368)
- $1,500 to $1,999 2.5% (128)
- $2,000 to $2,999 1.6% (82)
- $3,000 or more 1.0% (50)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,412 homes here (27.5%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Pickens County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how Alabama handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Pickens County pay a substantially higher bill, 33% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Pickens County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Pickens County's effective rate is higher than 21% of the 67 counties in Alabama - ranking #53 of 67.
Where Pickens County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.29% Among the most affordable more affordable than 98% 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 0.29%, Pickens County sits in the lowest 2% 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 $364, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Pickens County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Pickens County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 0.8% | - | - |
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.
Pickens County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Alabama counties.
Pickens County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $364 +2.2% | 0.29% |
| 2023 | $356 -4.3% | 0.29% |
| 2022 | $372 +13.8% | 0.31% |
| 2021 | $327 -1.5% | 0.31% |
| 2020 | $332 | 0.33% |
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.
Pickens County: tax takes only 0.8% of income
Counties near Pickens County's effective rate
On effective rate, Pickens County sits nearest Chaffee County (CO), Gunnison County (CO), Montezuma County (CO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Lawrence County (SD), Lincoln County (KS), Garrett County (MD).
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
Pickens County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 210 of 7,070 returns from Pickens County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,300 - 33% 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 Alabama
Pickens County rate FAQs
- How does Pickens County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Pickens County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.29% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Pickens County, Alabama?
- The median annual property tax in Pickens County is $364, an effective rate of 0.29% on a $123,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Pickens County?
- Pickens County, Alabama scores A+ (93/100) 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+ (0.29%). 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 Pickens County?
- Property taxes in Pickens County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 0.8% of the $46,274 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Pickens County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Pickens County climbed 9.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $332 to $364, 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 Pickens County's QUIET rate
Pickens County's $364 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 0.8% of Pickens County's $46,274 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Pickens 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: 0.29%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $364/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Pickens County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Pickens County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Washington County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $365/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.23% vs Pickens County 0.29%.
Butler County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $362/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.36% vs Pickens County 0.29%.
Evangeline Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $362/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.29% vs Pickens County 0.29%.
Crenshaw County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $369/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 0.32% vs Pickens County 0.29%.
Alabama county set
State ACS overview for every published Alabama county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Pickens 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 Pickens County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.