Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Prince William County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Prince William County pays $4,999 a year, an effective rate of 0.94%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,999
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 0.94%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +151%
- vs U.S. average
- #11 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Prince William County pay a median $4,999 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.94%, more affordable than 40% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,999
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.94%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1882 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +151%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($530,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 488,880. Owner-occupied homes: 116,435.
The median annual property tax in Prince William County is $4,999, which is 79% higher than the Virginia state average and 151% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.94% on a median home value of $530,100. Property taxes represent 3.8% of the median household income in this county.
Why Prince William County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Prince William County pay a median annual property tax of $4,999, far above the national median and far above the Virginia state median. On a $530,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.94% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Virginia counties by effective rate
Prince William County ranks #11 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (92% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Prince William County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.8% of the $131,402 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Prince William County's 0.94% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 40%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Prince William 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 10.9% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 56% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 35.7%, the median bill rose 21.0% to $4,999: 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 $4,132 to $4,999, a gain of 21%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 89,659 of 116,435 owner-occupied homes (77.0%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 3.8% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
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 Prince William County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Prince William County homeowners, 89,659 of 116,435 owner-occupied homes (77.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 3.6% (4,145)
- $800 to $1,499 3.1% (3,584)
- $1,500 to $1,999 2.3% (2,683)
- $2,000 to $2,999 8.4% (9,771)
- $3,000 or more 77.0% (89,659)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
6,593 homes here (5.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Prince William County pay about the same bill, within a 2% gap either way.
Prince William County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Prince William County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Prince William County's median bill is 79% above the Virginia median and 151% above the U.S. median.
Above Virginia on both measures
Prince William County's effective rate runs 29% over the Virginia median and its bill 79% over. When both move together the rate is not being offset by cheaper housing, so the $4,999 median bill is carrying the full weight of the higher rate rather than a valuation difference. This is a comparison of two published medians, not a statement about any individual parcel.
Prince William County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Prince William County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 3.8% | - | - |
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.
Is Prince William County's $4,999 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Prince William County's $4,999 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $500/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Virginia.
Prince William County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,999 +1.8% | 0.94% |
| 2023 | $4,910 +3.7% | 0.98% |
| 2022 | $4,736 +8.9% | 1.00% |
| 2021 | $4,349 +5.3% | 1.06% |
| 2020 | $4,132 | 1.06% |
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.
Prince William County: tax-to-income at 3.8%
Counties near Prince William County's median bill
On effective rate, Prince William County sits nearest Yoakum County (TX), Henderson County (TX), Goliad County (TX).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Plymouth County (MA), Nye County (NV), Kiowa County (OK).
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
Prince William County: only 17% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 41,280 of 239,990 returns from Prince William County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,054 - 41% 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
Prince William County bill FAQs
- How does Prince William County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Prince William County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.94% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Prince William County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Prince William County is $4,999, an effective rate of 0.94% on a $530,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Prince William County?
- Prince William County, Virginia scores F (34/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-123). 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 Prince William County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Prince William County jumped 21.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $4,132 to $4,999, 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 Prince William County?
- Property taxes in Prince William County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.8% of the $131,402 median household income.
What to do with Prince William County's HEAVY bill
Prince William County's $4,999 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Prince William County ranks #11 of 133 Virginia counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Virginia overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Prince William County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.94%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,999/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Prince William County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Prince William County (UNDER · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER HEAVY
Brazoria County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $5,001/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.66% vs Prince William County 0.94%.
Dallas County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $5,001/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.41% vs Prince William County 0.94%.
Anchorage Municipality, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,982/yr (near-tied bill ABS $17); rate 1.26% vs Prince William County 0.94%.
Sullivan County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,969/yr (near-tied bill ABS $30); rate 2.00% vs Prince William County 0.94%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Prince William County stamps UNDER · HEAVY - 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 Prince William County (UNDER · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.