Alabama · County property tax · ACS 2024
Russell County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Russell County pays $629 a year, an effective rate of 0.38%, far below the U.S. average.
- $629
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.38%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -68%
- vs U.S. average
- #22 of 67
- rank in AL
The verdict
Homeowners in Russell County pay a median $629 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.38%, more affordable than 94% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $629
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.38%
- Effective rate on median home
- #179 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -68%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($165,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Alabama. Population: 58,811. Owner-occupied homes: 14,676.
The median annual property tax in Russell County is $629, which is 20% lower than the Alabama state average and 68% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.38% on a median home value of $165,700. Property taxes represent 1.2% of the median household income in this county.
Russell County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Russell County's 0.38% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 94% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Russell County pay a median annual property tax of $629, far below the national median and notably lower than the Alabama state median. On a $165,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.38% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Russell County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.2% of the $51,197 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Alabama counties by effective rate
Russell County ranks #22 of 67 counties in Alabama by effective rate (67% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Russell 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Russell County's effective rate fell 13.9% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 31.2%, leaving the median bill 12.9% higher at $629. That rate move is larger than the one in 59% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 $557 to $629, 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 7,291 of 14,676 owner-occupied homes (49.7%) 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 1.2% 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
26.5% of Russell County homes owned free and clear (1,965 of 7,415) report no property tax at all, against 14.3% 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 Russell County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Russell County homeowners, 7,291 of 14,676 owner-occupied homes (49.7%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 49.7% (7,291)
- $800 to $1,499 17.2% (2,517)
- $1,500 to $1,999 5.8% (847)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.0% (728)
- $3,000 or more 2.0% (290)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
3,003 homes here (20.5%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Alabama handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Russell County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+94%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Russell County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Russell County's effective rate is higher than 67% of the 67 counties in Alabama - ranking #22 of 67.
Where Russell County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.38% Among the most affordable more affordable than 94% 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 0.38%, Russell County sits in the lowest 6% 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 $629, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Russell County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Russell 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 | 1.2% | - | - |
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.
Russell County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Alabama counties.
Russell County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $629 -0.3% | 0.38% |
| 2023 | $631 +1.9% | 0.41% |
| 2022 | $619 +4.4% | 0.44% |
| 2021 | $593 +6.5% | 0.45% |
| 2020 | $557 | 0.44% |
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.
Russell County: tax takes only 1.2% of income
Counties near Russell County's effective rate
On effective rate, Russell County sits nearest Skagway Municipality (AK), Newton County (AR), Mesa County (CO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Logan County (NE), Fort Bend County (TX), Calumet County (WI).
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
Russell County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 800 of 23,420 returns from Russell County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,623 - 34% 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
Russell County rate FAQs
- How does Russell County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Russell County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.38% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Russell County?
- Russell County, Alabama scores A- (81/100) 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+ (0.38%). 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 Russell County, Alabama?
- The median annual property tax in Russell County is $629, an effective rate of 0.38% on a $165,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Russell County?
- Property taxes in Russell County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.2% of the $51,197 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Russell County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Russell County climbed 12.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $557 to $629, 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 Russell County's QUIET rate
Russell County's $629 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 1.2% of Russell County's $51,197 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Russell 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: 0.38%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $629/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Russell County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Russell County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Autauga County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $627/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.30% vs Russell County 0.38%.
Clay County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $627/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.41% vs Russell County 0.38%.
Oregon County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $627/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.55% vs Russell County 0.38%.
Caddo County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $626/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.54% vs Russell County 0.38%.
Atkinson County (rate-lane contrast)
Near Russell County on ACS median bill yet stamps a different effective-rate lane (0.79% vs 0.38%).
Alabama county set
State ACS overview for every published Alabama county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Russell 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 Russell County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.