Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Rockbridge County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Rockbridge County pays $1,492 a year, an effective rate of 0.60%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,492
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.60%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -25%
- vs U.S. average
- #69 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Rockbridge County pay a median $1,492 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.60%, more affordable than 71% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,492
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.60%
- Effective rate on median home
- #895 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -25%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($248,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 22,531. Owner-occupied homes: 7,572.
The median annual property tax in Rockbridge County is $1,492, which is 47% lower than the Virginia state average and 25% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.60% on a median home value of $248,800. Property taxes represent 2.3% of the median household income in this county.
Rockbridge County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Rockbridge County's 0.60% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 71%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Rockbridge County pay a median annual property tax of $1,492, well below the national median and well below the Virginia state median. On a $248,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.60% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Rockbridge County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $65,469 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Virginia counties by effective rate
Rockbridge County ranks #69 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (48% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Rockbridge 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 6.7% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 73% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 20.6%, the median bill rose 12.5% to $1,492: 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 $1,326 to $1,492, a gain of 13%. 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 2,205 of 7,572 owner-occupied homes (29.1%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 2.3% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Rockbridge County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Rockbridge County homeowners, 2,205 of 7,572 owner-occupied homes (29.1%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 20.5% (1,553)
- $800 to $1,499 29.1% (2,205)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.2% (1,227)
- $2,000 to $2,999 16.0% (1,213)
- $3,000 or more 16.7% (1,264)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
110 homes here (1.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Rockbridge County, mortgaged homeowners pay 13% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Rockbridge County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Rockbridge County's effective rate is higher than 48% of the 133 counties in Virginia - ranking #69 of 133.
Where Rockbridge County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.60% Among the most affordable more affordable than 71% 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
Rockbridge County's effective rate runs 18% under the Virginia median and its bill 47% 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 $1,492 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.
Rockbridge County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Rockbridge County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.3% | - | - |
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.
Rockbridge County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Virginia counties.
Rockbridge County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,492 +4.2% | 0.60% |
| 2023 | $1,432 +4.3% | 0.60% |
| 2022 | $1,373 +2.5% | 0.59% |
| 2021 | $1,340 +1.1% | 0.64% |
| 2020 | $1,326 | 0.64% |
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.
Rockbridge County: tax-to-income at 2.3%
Counties near Rockbridge County's effective rate
On effective rate, Rockbridge County sits nearest Weber County (UT), Jeff Davis County (TX), Davidson County (TN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Washington County (MD), Cumberland County (NJ), Washington County (MS).
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
Rockbridge County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 600 of 10,360 returns from Rockbridge County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,780 - 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
Rockbridge County rate FAQs
- How does Rockbridge County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Rockbridge County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.60% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Rockbridge County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Rockbridge County is $1,492, an effective rate of 0.60% on a $248,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Rockbridge County?
- Rockbridge 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 B (0.60%). 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 Rockbridge County?
- Property taxes in Rockbridge County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.3% of the $65,469 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Rockbridge County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Rockbridge County climbed 12.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,326 to $1,492, 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 Rockbridge County's QUIET rate
Rockbridge County's $1,492 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 →
Rockbridge County ranks #69 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 Rockbridge 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: 0.60%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,492/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Rockbridge County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Rockbridge County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Cambria County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Rockbridge County at $1,492/yr; rate 1.23% vs Rockbridge County 0.60%.
Elko County, NV
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Rockbridge County at $1,492/yr; rate 0.50% vs Rockbridge County 0.60%.
Roberts County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Rockbridge County at $1,492/yr; rate 0.97% vs Rockbridge County 0.60%.
Fillmore County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,491/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.99% vs Rockbridge County 0.60%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.