Alabama · County property tax · ACS 2024
Sumter County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Sumter County pays $359 a year, an effective rate of 0.43%, far below the U.S. average.
- $359
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.43%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -82%
- vs U.S. average
- #7 of 67
- rank in AL
The verdict
Homeowners in Sumter County pay a median $359 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.43%, more affordable than 91% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $359
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.43%
- Effective rate on median home
- #292 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -82%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($82,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Alabama. Population: 11,878. Owner-occupied homes: 3,224.
The median annual property tax in Sumter County is $359, which is 54% lower than the Alabama state average and 82% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.43% on a median home value of $82,600. Property taxes represent 1.1% of the median household income in this county.
Sumter County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Sumter County's 0.43% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 91% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Sumter County pay a median annual property tax of $359, far below the national median and far below the Alabama state median. On a $82,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.43% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Alabama counties by effective rate
Sumter County ranks #7 of 67 counties in Alabama by effective rate (90% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Sumter County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.1% of the $33,310 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has jumped 20.9%, from $297 to $359. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Sumter 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 42% from $253 to $359. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 1,806 of 3,224 owner-occupied homes (56.0%) 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 1.1% 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
34.0% of Sumter County homes owned free and clear (750 of 2,206) report no property tax at all, against 19.9% 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 Sumter County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Sumter County homeowners, 1,806 of 3,224 owner-occupied homes (56.0%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 56.0% (1,806)
- $800 to $1,499 9.6% (308)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.5% (144)
- $2,000 to $2,999 0.4% (13)
- $3,000 or more 0.0% (0)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
953 homes here (29.6%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Sumter County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how Alabama handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Sumter County pay a substantially higher bill, 31% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Sumter County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Sumter County's effective rate is higher than 90% of the 67 counties in Alabama - ranking #7 of 67.
Where Sumter County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.43% Among the most affordable more affordable than 91% 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 0.43%, Sumter County sits in the lowest 9% 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 $359, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Sumter County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Sumter 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 | 1.1% | - | - |
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.
Sumter County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Alabama counties.
Sumter County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $359 +20.9% | 0.43% |
| 2023 | $297 +8.0% | 0.35% |
| 2022 | $275 +9.1% | 0.31% |
| 2021 | $252 -0.4% | 0.36% |
| 2020 | $253 | 0.38% |
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.
Sumter County: tax takes only 1.1% of income
Counties near Sumter County's effective rate
On effective rate, Sumter County sits nearest Hoonah-Angoon Census Area (AK), Scott County (AR), Searcy County (AR).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Gulf County (FL), Caldwell County (MO), Walton County (GA).
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
Sumter County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 130 of 4,500 returns from Sumter County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,054 - 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 Alabama
Sumter County rate FAQs
- How does Sumter County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Sumter County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.43% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Sumter County, Alabama?
- The median annual property tax in Sumter County is $359, an effective rate of 0.43% on a $82,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Sumter County?
- Sumter County, Alabama scores A+ (91/100) 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+ ($359/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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Sumter County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Sumter County is recorded at $359 in the 2024 5-year release against $253 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 3,224 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Sumter County?
- Property taxes in Sumter County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.1% of the $33,310 median household income.
What to do with Sumter County's QUIET rate
Sumter County's $359 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 1.1% of Sumter County's $33,310 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Sumter 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: 0.43%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $359/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Sumter County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Sumter County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Butler County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $362/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.36% vs Sumter County 0.43%.
Claiborne Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $356/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.43% vs Sumter County 0.43%.
Evangeline Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $362/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.29% vs Sumter County 0.43%.
Walker County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $356/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.26% vs Sumter County 0.43%.
Alabama county set
State ACS overview for every published Alabama county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Sumter 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 Sumter County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.