Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Surry County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Surry County pays $1,651 a year, an effective rate of 0.69%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,651
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.69%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -17%
- vs U.S. average
- #49 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Surry County pay a median $1,651 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.69%, more affordable than 61% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,651
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.69%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1228 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -17%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($238,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 6,549. Owner-occupied homes: 2,251.
The median annual property tax in Surry County is $1,651, which is 41% lower than the Virginia state average and 17% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.69% on a median home value of $238,800. Property taxes represent 2.1% 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 0.69% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 61%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Virginia median
Homeowners in Surry County pay a median annual property tax of $1,651, notably lower than the national median and well below the Virginia state median. On a $238,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.69% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Surry County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $78,041 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Virginia counties by effective rate
Surry County ranks #49 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (63% 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.
The rate held while the market moved
Surry County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 3.3% up, against a median home value that rose 18.8%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 22.8%, from $1,345 to $1,651.
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 $1,345 to $1,651, a gain of 23%. 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 556 of 2,251 owner-occupied homes (24.7%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Top-quartile earnings meet a below-median rate, putting the median bill at 2.1% of median household income. Counties in this position span a wide range on the ratio above, because the dollar bill tracks home values rather than the rate.
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, 556 of 2,251 owner-occupied homes (24.7%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 19.2% (433)
- $800 to $1,499 24.7% (556)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.0% (337)
- $2,000 to $2,999 21.2% (477)
- $3,000 or more 16.8% (378)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
70 homes here (3.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Surry 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.
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 63% of the 133 counties in Virginia - ranking #49 of 133.
Where Surry County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.69% Among the most affordable more affordable than 61% 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 Virginia, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 5% of the Virginia median, yet the median bill runs 41% 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 $1,651 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 | Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.1% | - | - |
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.
Surry County is QUIET · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Virginia counties.
Surry County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,651 +12.0% | 0.69% |
| 2023 | $1,474 +6.2% | 0.63% |
| 2022 | $1,388 +3.6% | 0.60% |
| 2021 | $1,340 -0.4% | 0.65% |
| 2020 | $1,345 | 0.67% |
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-to-income at 2.1%
Counties near Surry County's effective rate
On effective rate, Surry County sits nearest Leon County (TX), Wheeler County (OR), Jefferson County (OR).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Dallas County (IA), Roosevelt County (MT), Richmond County (NC).
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 8% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 260 of 3,200 returns from Surry County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,600 - 35% 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 Virginia
Surry County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Surry County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Surry County is $1,651, an effective rate of 0.69% on a $238,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Surry County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Surry County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.69% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Surry County?
- Surry County, Virginia scores C (57/100) 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 C+ (2.1%). 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 Surry County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Surry County jumped 22.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,345 to $1,651, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Surry County?
- Property taxes in Surry County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $78,041 median household income.
What to do with Surry County's QUIET rate
Inside Virginia, Surry County's $1,651 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Virginia overview →
Surry County ranks #49 of 133 Virginia counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Virginia overview →
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: 0.69%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,651/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 · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET MID
Henderson County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Surry County at $1,651/yr; rate 1.58% vs Surry County 0.69%.
Pondera County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Surry County at $1,651/yr; rate 0.80% vs Surry County 0.69%.
Rabun County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Surry County at $1,651/yr; rate 0.56% vs Surry County 0.69%.
Douglas County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,653/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.99% vs Surry County 0.69%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Surry County stamps QUIET · MID - 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 · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.