Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Scott County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Scott County pays $885 a year, an effective rate of 0.62%, far below the U.S. average.
- $885
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.62%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -56%
- vs U.S. average
- #62 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Scott County pay a median $885 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.62%, more affordable than 69% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $885
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.62%
- Effective rate on median home
- #974 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -56%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($143,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 21,479. Owner-occupied homes: 7,029.
The median annual property tax in Scott County is $885, which is 68% lower than the Virginia state average and 56% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.62% on a median home value of $143,000. Property taxes represent 1.9% of the median household income in this county.
Scott County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Scott County's 0.62% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 69%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Scott County pay a median annual property tax of $885, far below the national median and far below the Virginia state median. On a $143,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.62% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Scott County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $46,349 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Virginia counties by effective rate
Scott County ranks #62 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (53% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Scott 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 11.4% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 53% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 33.8%, the median bill rose 18.5% to $885: 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 $747 to $885, a gain of 18%. 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: 3,040 of 7,029 owner-occupied homes (43.2%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Incomes here are in the lowest quarter nationally while the rate sits just below the middle, and the median bill lands at 1.9% of median household income. The rate reads as unremarkable in a national ranking; the earnings behind it are not, and the ratio above is where the two meet.
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 Scott County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Scott County homeowners, 3,040 of 7,029 owner-occupied homes (43.2%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 43.2% (3,040)
- $800 to $1,499 32.5% (2,287)
- $1,500 to $1,999 8.9% (623)
- $2,000 to $2,999 9.2% (644)
- $3,000 or more 3.8% (265)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
170 homes here (2.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Scott County, mortgaged homeowners pay 19% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Scott County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Scott County's effective rate is higher than 53% of the 133 counties in Virginia - ranking #62 of 133.
Where Scott County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.62% Among the most affordable more affordable than 69% 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
Scott County's effective rate runs 15% under the Virginia median and its bill 68% 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 $885 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.
Scott County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Scott County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 1.9% | - | - |
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.
Scott County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Virginia counties.
Scott County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $885 +7.1% | 0.62% |
| 2023 | $826 +0.4% | 0.68% |
| 2022 | $823 +8.7% | 0.67% |
| 2021 | $757 +1.3% | 0.70% |
| 2020 | $747 | 0.70% |
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.
Scott County: tax takes only 1.9% of income
Counties near Scott County's effective rate
On effective rate, Scott County sits nearest Emery County (UT), Haywood County (TN), Hamilton County (TN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Unicoi County (TN), Baca County (CO), Monroe County (IA).
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
Scott County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 140 of 8,140 returns from Scott County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,943 - 36% of those reporters sat in the $50-75k 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
Scott County rate FAQs
- How does Scott County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Scott County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.62% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Scott County?
- Scott County, Virginia scores B (70/100) 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 bill size at A- ($885/yr). 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 Scott County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Scott County is $885, an effective rate of 0.62% on a $143,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Scott County?
- Property taxes in Scott County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $46,349 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Scott County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Scott County climbed 18.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $747 to $885, 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 Scott County's QUIET rate
Scott County's $885 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 1.9% of Scott County's $46,349 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Scott 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: 0.62%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $885/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Scott County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Scott County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Mora County, NM
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Scott County at $885/yr; rate 0.72% vs Scott County 0.62%.
Rowan County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Scott County at $885/yr; rate 0.55% vs Scott County 0.62%.
Emanuel County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $884/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.93% vs Scott County 0.62%.
Grant County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $884/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.72% vs Scott County 0.62%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Scott 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 Scott County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.