Virginia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Sussex County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Sussex County pays $1,078 a year, an effective rate of 0.59%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,078
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.59%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -46%
- vs U.S. average
- #73 of 133
- rank in VA
The verdict
Homeowners in Sussex County pay a median $1,078 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.59%, more affordable than 73% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,078
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.59%
- Effective rate on median home
- #846 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 ($183,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Virginia. Population: 10,765. Owner-occupied homes: 2,640.
The median annual property tax in Sussex County is $1,078, which is 61% lower than the Virginia state average and 46% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.59% on a median home value of $183,800. Property taxes represent 1.7% of the median household income in this county.
Sussex County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Sussex County's 0.59% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 73%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Sussex County pay a median annual property tax of $1,078, well below the national median and far below the Virginia state median. On a $183,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.59% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Sussex County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.7% of the $63,530 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 11.6%, from $966 to $1,078. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Near the middle of Virginia counties by effective rate
Sussex County ranks #73 of 133 counties in Virginia by effective rate (45% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Sussex 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 44% from $747 to $1,078. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 949 of 2,640 owner-occupied homes (35.9%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 1.7% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Sussex County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Sussex County homeowners, 949 of 2,640 owner-occupied homes (35.9%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 34.9% (921)
- $800 to $1,499 35.9% (949)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.1% (241)
- $2,000 to $2,999 11.3% (299)
- $3,000 or more 2.7% (72)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
158 homes here (6.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Virginia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Sussex County pay a substantially higher bill, 35% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Sussex County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Sussex County's effective rate is higher than 45% of the 133 counties in Virginia - ranking #73 of 133.
Where Sussex County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.59% Among the most affordable more affordable than 73% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Sussex County moved from $747 in the 2020 release to $1,078 in 2024, a change of about 44%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Sussex County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Sussex County | Virginia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.7% | - | - |
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.
Sussex County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Virginia counties.
Sussex County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,078 +11.6% | 0.59% |
| 2023 | $966 +9.0% | 0.54% |
| 2022 | $886 +12.7% | 0.59% |
| 2021 | $786 +5.2% | 0.61% |
| 2020 | $747 | 0.61% |
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.
Sussex County: tax takes only 1.7% of income
Counties near Sussex County's effective rate
On effective rate, Sussex County sits nearest Lauderdale County (TN), Crockett County (TN), Jackson County (OK).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Kemper County (MS), Lac qui Parle County (MN), Avery 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
Sussex County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 210 of 4,310 returns from Sussex County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,738 - 29% 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
Sussex County rate FAQs
- How does Sussex County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Sussex County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.59% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Sussex County, Virginia?
- The median annual property tax in Sussex County is $1,078, an effective rate of 0.59% on a $183,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Sussex County?
- Sussex County, Virginia scores B- (69/100) 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 B+ (1.7%). 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 Sussex County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Sussex County is recorded at $1,078 in the 2024 5-year release against $747 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 2,640 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 Sussex County?
- Property taxes in Sussex County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.7% of the $63,530 median household income.
What to do with Sussex County's QUIET rate
Sussex County's $1,078 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 1.7% of Sussex County's $63,530 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Sussex 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: 0.59%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,078/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Sussex County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Sussex County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Amelia County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,079/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.38% vs Sussex County 0.59%.
Rush County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,079/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.65% vs Sussex County 0.59%.
Early County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,081/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.82% vs Sussex County 0.59%.
San Miguel County, NM
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,081/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.57% vs Sussex County 0.59%.
Virginia county set
State ACS overview for every published Virginia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Sussex 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 Sussex County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.