Alabama · County property tax · ACS 2024
Tuscaloosa County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Tuscaloosa County pays $795 a year, an effective rate of 0.32%, far below the U.S. average.
- $795
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.32%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -60%
- vs U.S. average
- #43 of 67
- rank in AL
The verdict
Homeowners in Tuscaloosa County pay a median $795 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.32%, more affordable than 97% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $795
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.32%
- Effective rate on median home
- #99 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -60%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($248,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Alabama. Population: 237,552. Owner-occupied homes: 55,297.
The median annual property tax in Tuscaloosa County is $795, which is 1% higher than the Alabama state average and 60% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.32% on a median home value of $248,700. Property taxes represent 1.2% of the median household income in this county.
Tuscaloosa County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Tuscaloosa County's 0.32% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 97% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Tuscaloosa County pay a median annual property tax of $795, far below the national median and roughly in line with the Alabama state median. On a $248,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.32% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Tuscaloosa County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.2% of the $66,231 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Alabama counties by effective rate
Tuscaloosa County ranks #43 of 67 counties in Alabama by effective rate (36% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Tuscaloosa 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
Tuscaloosa County's effective rate fell 13.8% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 38.9%, leaving the median bill 19.7% higher at $795. That rate move is larger than the one in 58% 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 $664 to $795, a gain of 20%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 23,661 of 55,297 owner-occupied homes (42.8%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 1.2% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
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
20.4% of Tuscaloosa County homes owned free and clear (4,233 of 20,759) report no property tax at all, against 11.8% 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 Tuscaloosa County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Tuscaloosa County homeowners, 23,661 of 55,297 owner-occupied homes (42.8%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 42.8% (23,661)
- $800 to $1,499 24.8% (13,737)
- $1,500 to $1,999 7.7% (4,244)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.5% (3,019)
- $3,000 or more 4.2% (2,321)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
8,315 homes here (15.0%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Alabama handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Tuscaloosa County, mortgaged homeowners pay 24% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Tuscaloosa County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Tuscaloosa County's effective rate is higher than 36% of the 67 counties in Alabama - ranking #43 of 67.
Where Tuscaloosa County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.32% Among the most affordable more affordable than 97% 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 0.32%, Tuscaloosa County sits in the lowest 3% 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 $795, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Tuscaloosa County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Tuscaloosa County | Alabama Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.2% | - | - |
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.
Tuscaloosa County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Alabama counties.
Tuscaloosa County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $795 +5.4% | 0.32% |
| 2023 | $754 +4.4% | 0.32% |
| 2022 | $722 +8.6% | 0.33% |
| 2021 | $665 +0.2% | 0.36% |
| 2020 | $664 | 0.37% |
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.
Tuscaloosa County: tax takes only 1.2% of income
Counties near Tuscaloosa County's effective rate
On effective rate, Tuscaloosa County sits nearest Montgomery County (AR), Stone County (AR), Costilla County (CO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Yates County (NY), Giles County (TN), Grant County (WV).
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
Tuscaloosa County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 4,890 of 84,920 returns from Tuscaloosa County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,182 - 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 Alabama
Tuscaloosa County rate FAQs
- How does Tuscaloosa County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Tuscaloosa County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.32% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Tuscaloosa County?
- Tuscaloosa County, Alabama scores A- (84/100) 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+ (0.32%). 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 Tuscaloosa County, Alabama?
- The median annual property tax in Tuscaloosa County is $795, an effective rate of 0.32% on a $248,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Tuscaloosa County?
- Property taxes in Tuscaloosa County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.2% of the $66,231 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Tuscaloosa County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Tuscaloosa County climbed 19.7% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $664 to $795, 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 Tuscaloosa County's QUIET rate
Tuscaloosa County's $795 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 1.2% of Tuscaloosa County's $66,231 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Tuscaloosa 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: 0.32%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $795/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Tuscaloosa County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Tuscaloosa County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Sullivan County, MO
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Tuscaloosa County at $795/yr; rate 0.69% vs Tuscaloosa County 0.32%.
Wilcox County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Tuscaloosa County at $795/yr; rate 0.91% vs Tuscaloosa County 0.32%.
Henderson County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $794/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs Tuscaloosa County 0.32%.
Okmulgee County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $796/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.66% vs Tuscaloosa County 0.32%.
Alabama county set
State ACS overview for every published Alabama county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.