Mississippi · County property tax · ACS 2024
Smith County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Smith County pays $469 a year, an effective rate of 0.42%, far below the U.S. average.
- $469
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.42%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -76%
- vs U.S. average
- #80 of 81
- rank in MS
The verdict
Homeowners in Smith County pay a median $469 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.42%, more affordable than 92% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $469
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.42%
- Effective rate on median home
- #265 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -76%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($112,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Mississippi. Population: 14,132. Owner-occupied homes: 4,889.
The median annual property tax in Smith County is $469, which is 61% lower than the Mississippi state average and 76% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.42% on a median home value of $112,600. Property taxes represent 0.8% of the median household income in this county.
Smith County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Smith County's 0.42% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 92% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Smith County pay a median annual property tax of $469, far below the national median and far below the Mississippi state median. On a $112,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.42% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Mississippi counties by effective rate
Smith County ranks #80 of 81 counties in Mississippi by effective rate (1% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Smith County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 0.8% of the $60,916 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Smith 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 gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Smith County rose 4.0%, from $108,300 to $112,600. The effective rate fell 22.9% over the same span, a steeper move than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still fell 19.8%, to $469. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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
This is one of the counties where the typical bill came down, from $585 in 2020 to $469 in 2024, a fall of 20%. The source reports the change but does not distinguish among rate, value, or household-composition effects.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 2,105 of 4,889 owner-occupied homes (43.1%) 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 0.8% 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.
The published bill went DOWN here
Between the 2020 and 2024 ACS releases the median annual property tax in Smith County fell from $585 to $469, a change of -19.8%. Fewer than three counties in a hundred recorded any decline over this period; nearly everywhere else the published figure rose. A fall can reflect reassessment, a shifting mix of the homes surveyed, or genuine rate relief, and these estimates cannot separate those causes.
Paying off the mortgage changes the picture here
35.2% of Smith County homes owned free and clear (1,136 of 3,224) report no property tax at all, against 35.6% 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 Smith County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Smith County homeowners, 2,105 of 4,889 owner-occupied homes (43.1%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 43.1% (2,105)
- $800 to $1,499 13.5% (661)
- $1,500 to $1,999 3.5% (171)
- $2,000 to $2,999 2.5% (120)
- $3,000 or more 2.1% (103)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,729 homes here (35.4%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Smith County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how Mississippi handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Smith County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+99%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Smith County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Smith County's effective rate is higher than 1% of the 81 counties in Mississippi - ranking #80 of 81.
Where Smith County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.42% Among the most affordable more affordable than 92% 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 0.42%, Smith County sits in the lowest 8% 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 $469, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Smith County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Smith County | Mississippi 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 | 0.8% | - | - |
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.
Smith County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Mississippi counties.
Smith County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $469 -10.0% | 0.42% |
| 2023 | $521 -16.5% | 0.46% |
| 2022 | $624 +7.6% | 0.52% |
| 2021 | $580 -0.9% | 0.52% |
| 2020 | $585 | 0.54% |
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.
Smith County: tax takes only 0.8% of income
Counties near Smith County's effective rate
On effective rate, Smith County sits nearest Red River Parish (LA), Lake County (CO), Garfield County (CO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Wichita County (KS), Bullock County (AL), Wibaux County (MT).
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
Smith County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 160 of 5,970 returns from Smith County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,231 - 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 Mississippi
Smith County rate FAQs
- How does Smith County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Smith County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.42% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Smith County, Mississippi?
- The median annual property tax in Smith County is $469, an effective rate of 0.42% on a $112,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Smith County?
- Smith County, Mississippi scores A (88/100) 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+ (0.8%). 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 Smith County?
- Property taxes in Smith County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 0.8% of the $60,916 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Smith County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Smith County declined 19.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $585 to $469, 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 Smith County's QUIET rate
Smith County's $469 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 0.8% of Smith County's $60,916 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Smith 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: 0.42%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $469/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Smith County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Smith County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
St. Helena Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Smith County at $469/yr; rate 0.61% vs Smith County 0.42%.
Clay County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $470/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.50% vs Smith County 0.42%.
Searcy County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $468/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.43% vs Smith County 0.42%.
Buffalo County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $473/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.40% vs Smith County 0.42%.
Mississippi county set
State ACS overview for every published Mississippi county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Smith 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 Smith County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.