North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Swain County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Swain County pays $859 a year, an effective rate of 0.41%, far below the U.S. average.
- $859
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.41%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -57%
- vs U.S. average
- #97 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Swain County pay a median $859 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.41%, more affordable than 92% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $859
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.41%
- Effective rate on median home
- #246 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -57%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($207,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 14,013. Owner-occupied homes: 4,369.
The median annual property tax in Swain County is $859, which is 55% lower than the North Carolina state average and 57% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.41% on a median home value of $207,000. Property taxes represent 1.6% of the median household income in this county.
Swain County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Swain County's 0.41% 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 Swain County pay a median annual property tax of $859, far below the national median and far below the North Carolina state median. On a $207,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.41% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among North Carolina counties by effective rate
Swain County ranks #97 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (3% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Swain County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $52,349 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release held the bill roughly steady
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has held roughly steady, up 1.8%, from $844 to $859. 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 Swain 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 28% from $673 to $859. 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: 1,425 of 4,369 owner-occupied homes (32.6%) 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 1.6% 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
37.8% of Swain County homes owned free and clear (1,071 of 2,836) report no property tax at all, against 17.9% 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 Swain County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Swain County homeowners, 1,425 of 4,369 owner-occupied homes (32.6%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 32.6% (1,425)
- $800 to $1,499 26.6% (1,161)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.7% (207)
- $2,000 to $2,999 4.3% (187)
- $3,000 or more 1.0% (43)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,346 homes here (30.8%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Swain County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Swain County, mortgaged homeowners pay 21% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Swain County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Swain County's effective rate is higher than 3% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #97 of 100.
Where Swain County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.41% 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 0.41%, Swain 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 $859, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Swain County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Swain County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.6% | - | - |
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.
Swain County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Carolina counties.
Swain County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $859 +1.8% | 0.41% |
| 2023 | $844 -0.5% | 0.40% |
| 2022 | $848 +13.1% | 0.47% |
| 2021 | $750 +11.4% | 0.44% |
| 2020 | $673 | 0.45% |
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.
Swain County: tax takes only 1.6% of income
Counties near Swain County's effective rate
On effective rate, Swain County sits nearest Carson City (NV), Madison County (MT), Hickory County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Clark County (WA), Lyon County (KS), Carlton County (MN).
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
Swain County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 130 of 8,190 returns from Swain County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,369 - 38% of those reporters sat in the $50-75k 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
Swain County rate FAQs
- How does Swain County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Swain County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.41% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Swain County?
- Swain County, North Carolina scores B+ (77/100) 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 rate relief at A+ (0.41%). 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 is the average property tax in Swain County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Swain County is $859, an effective rate of 0.41% on a $207,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Swain County?
- Property taxes in Swain County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.6% of the $52,349 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Swain County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Swain County is recorded at $859 in the 2024 5-year release against $673 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 4,369 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 to do with Swain County's QUIET rate
Swain County's $859 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 1.6% of Swain County's $52,349 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Swain 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: 0.41%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $859/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Swain County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Swain County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Mecklenburg County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Swain County at $859/yr; rate 0.45% vs Swain County 0.41%.
Rich County, UT
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Swain County at $859/yr; rate 0.26% vs Swain County 0.41%.
Union County, NM
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Swain County at $859/yr; rate 0.70% vs Swain County 0.41%.
Shelby County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · $860/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.86% vs Swain County 0.41%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Swain 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 Swain County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.