West Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Preston County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Preston County pays $793 a year, an effective rate of 0.49%, far below the U.S. average.
- $793
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.49%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -60%
- vs U.S. average
- #29 of 55
- rank in WV
The verdict
Homeowners in Preston County pay a median $793 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.49%, more affordable than 84% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $793
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.49%
- Effective rate on median home
- #486 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -60%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($162,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for West Virginia. Population: 34,160. Owner-occupied homes: 10,438.
The median annual property tax in Preston County is $793, which is 8% lower than the West Virginia state average and 60% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.49% on a median home value of $162,800. Property taxes represent 1.3% of the median household income in this county.
Preston County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Preston County's 0.49% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 84%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Preston County pay a median annual property tax of $793, far below the national median and modestly below the West Virginia state median. On a $162,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.49% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Preston County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $61,880 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of West Virginia counties by effective rate
Preston County ranks #29 of 55 counties in West Virginia by effective rate (47% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Preston 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
Preston County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 2.6% up, against a median home value that rose 34.2%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 37.7%, from $576 to $793.
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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 38% from $576 to $793. 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: 5,110 of 10,438 owner-occupied homes (49.0%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Household income sits in the second quarter nationally and the effective rate in the lowest, so the median bill takes 1.3% of median household income. Both figures point the same way, which is unusual enough that the ratio above is worth reading rather than assumed.
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 Preston County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Preston County homeowners, 5,110 of 10,438 owner-occupied homes (49.0%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 49.0% (5,110)
- $800 to $1,499 34.6% (3,612)
- $1,500 to $1,999 5.4% (566)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.6% (582)
- $3,000 or more 2.2% (234)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
334 homes here (3.2%) 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 Preston County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+63%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Preston County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Preston County's effective rate is higher than 47% of the 55 counties in West Virginia - ranking #29 of 55.
Where Preston County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.49% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Preston County moved from $576 in the 2020 release to $793 in 2024, a change of about 38%. 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.
Preston County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Preston County | West Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.3% | - | - |
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.
Preston County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · West Virginia counties.
Preston County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $793 +6.2% | 0.49% |
| 2023 | $747 +6.7% | 0.47% |
| 2022 | $700 +9.9% | 0.47% |
| 2021 | $637 +10.6% | 0.49% |
| 2020 | $576 | 0.47% |
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.
Preston County: tax takes only 1.3% of income
Counties near Preston County's effective rate
On effective rate, Preston County sits nearest Rappahannock County (VA), Box Elder County (UT), Wayne County (TN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Beaufort County (SC), Sibley County (MN), Brevard County (FL).
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
Preston County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 260 of 14,070 returns from Preston County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,185 - 42% 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 West Virginia
Preston County rate FAQs
- How does Preston County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Preston County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.49% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Preston County?
- Preston County, West Virginia scores B+ (78/100) 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+ (1.3%). 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 Preston County, West Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Preston County is $793, an effective rate of 0.49% on a $162,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Preston County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Preston County jumped 37.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $576 to $793, 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 Preston County?
- Property taxes in Preston County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $61,880 median household income.
What to do with Preston County's QUIET rate
Preston County's $793 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 1.3% of Preston County's $61,880 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Preston 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: 0.49%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $793/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Preston County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Preston County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Lawrence County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Preston County at $793/yr; rate 0.71% vs Preston County 0.49%.
Switzerland County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Preston County at $793/yr; rate 0.45% vs Preston County 0.49%.
Henderson County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $794/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs Preston County 0.49%.
Johnson County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $792/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.66% vs Preston County 0.49%.
West Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published West Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Preston 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 Preston County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.