North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Surry County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Surry County pays $1,071 a year, an effective rate of 0.60%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,071
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.60%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -46%
- vs U.S. average
- #66 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Surry County pay a median $1,071 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.60%, more affordable than 71% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,071
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.60%
- Effective rate on median home
- #895 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -46%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($177,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 71,425. Owner-occupied homes: 21,930.
The median annual property tax in Surry County is $1,071, which is 44% lower than the North Carolina state average and 46% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.60% on a median home value of $177,600. Property taxes represent 1.9% of the median household income in this county.
Surry County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Surry 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 Surry County pay a median annual property tax of $1,071, well below the national median and well below the North Carolina state median. On a $177,600 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 carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Surry County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $55,656 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of North Carolina counties by effective rate
Surry County ranks #66 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (34% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Surry 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
Surry County's effective rate fell 16.0% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 36.9%, leaving the median bill 15.0% higher at $1,071. That rate move is larger than the one in 68% 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 $931 to $1,071, a gain of 15%. 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 8,167 of 21,930 owner-occupied homes (37.2%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
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 Surry County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Surry County homeowners, 8,167 of 21,930 owner-occupied homes (37.2%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 31.8% (6,978)
- $800 to $1,499 37.2% (8,167)
- $1,500 to $1,999 11.0% (2,418)
- $2,000 to $2,999 9.8% (2,142)
- $3,000 or more 6.4% (1,401)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
824 homes here (3.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Surry County pay a substantially higher bill, 31% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Surry County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Surry County's effective rate is higher than 34% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #66 of 100.
Where Surry 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
Same rate as North Carolina, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 9% of the North Carolina median, yet the median bill runs 44% below it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to cheaper housing produces $1,071 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Surry County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Surry County | North Carolina 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 | 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.
Surry County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Carolina counties.
Surry County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,071 +3.7% | 0.60% |
| 2023 | $1,033 +1.0% | 0.62% |
| 2022 | $1,023 +6.9% | 0.67% |
| 2021 | $957 +2.8% | 0.70% |
| 2020 | $931 | 0.72% |
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.
Surry County: tax takes only 1.9% of income
Counties near Surry County's effective rate
On effective rate, Surry County sits nearest De Baca County (NM), Chaves County (NM), Petroleum County (MT).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Kewaunee County (WI), Florence County (WI), Orange County (VT).
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
Surry County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 900 of 31,410 returns from Surry County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,160 - 34% of those reporters sat in the $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 North Carolina
Surry County rate FAQs
- How does Surry County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Surry 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 Surry County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Surry County is $1,071, an effective rate of 0.60% on a $177,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Surry County?
- Surry County, North Carolina scores B- (66/100) 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 B ($1,071/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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Surry County?
- Property taxes in Surry County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $55,656 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Surry County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Surry County climbed 15.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $931 to $1,071, 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 Surry County's QUIET rate
Surry County's $1,071 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 Surry County's $55,656 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Surry 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: $1,071/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Surry County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Surry County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Carroll County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,070/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.76% vs Surry County 0.60%.
Galax city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,072/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.76% vs Surry County 0.60%.
Love County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,072/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.63% vs Surry County 0.60%.
Niobrara County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,072/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs Surry County 0.60%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Surry 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 Surry County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.