Washington · County property tax · ACS 2024
Walla Walla County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Walla Walla County pays $3,492 a year, an effective rate of 0.85%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,492
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 0.85%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +75%
- vs U.S. average
- #4 of 39
- rank in WA
The verdict
Homeowners in Walla Walla County pay a median $3,492 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.85%, more affordable than 46% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,492
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.85%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1679 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +75%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($408,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Washington. Population: 62,161. Owner-occupied homes: 15,236.
The median annual property tax in Walla Walla County is $3,492, which is 23% lower than the Washington state average and 75% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.85% on a median home value of $408,900. Property taxes represent 4.7% of the median household income in this county.
Why Walla Walla County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Walla Walla County pay a median annual property tax of $3,492, far above the national median and notably lower than the Washington state median. On a $408,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.85% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Washington counties by effective rate
Walla Walla County ranks #4 of 39 counties in Washington by effective rate (90% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Walla Walla County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.7% of the $74,202 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Walla Walla County's 0.85% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 46%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Walla Walla 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 gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Walla Walla County rose 67.3%, from $244,400 to $408,900. The effective rate fell 20.2% over the same span, a steeper move than in 83% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 33.4%, to $3,492. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 33% from $2,617 to $3,492. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 8,651 of 15,236 owner-occupied homes (56.8%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 4.7% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.
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 Walla Walla County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Walla Walla County homeowners, 8,651 of 15,236 owner-occupied homes (56.8%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 6.2% (944)
- $800 to $1,499 7.2% (1,090)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.4% (970)
- $2,000 to $2,999 20.9% (3,183)
- $3,000 or more 56.8% (8,651)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
398 homes here (2.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Washington handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Walla Walla County pay about the same bill, a 6% gap.
Walla Walla County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Walla Walla County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Walla Walla County's median bill is 23% below the Washington median and 75% above the U.S. median.
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Walla Walla County moved from $2,617 in the 2020 release to $3,492 in 2024, a change of about 33%. 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.
Walla Walla County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Walla Walla County | Washington Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.7% | - | - |
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.
Is Walla Walla County's $3,492 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Walla Walla County's $3,492 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $349/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Washington.
Walla Walla County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,492 +3.1% | 0.85% |
| 2023 | $3,386 +11.6% | 0.90% |
| 2022 | $3,033 +9.1% | 0.91% |
| 2021 | $2,779 +6.2% | 1.00% |
| 2020 | $2,617 | 1.07% |
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.
Walla Walla County: tax takes 4.7% of income
Counties near Walla Walla County's median bill
On effective rate, Walla Walla County sits nearest Roanoke County (VA), Loudoun County (VA), Clackamas County (OR).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Leake County (MS), Bexar County (TX), Calhoun County (AR).
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
Walla Walla County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,530 of 27,530 returns from Walla Walla County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,719 - 33% 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 Washington
Walla Walla County bill FAQs
- How does Walla Walla County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Walla Walla County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.85% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Walla Walla County?
- Property taxes in Walla Walla County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.7% of the $74,202 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Walla Walla County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Walla Walla County jumped 33.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,617 to $3,492, 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 is the average property tax in Walla Walla County, Washington?
- The median annual property tax in Walla Walla County is $3,492, an effective rate of 0.85% on a $408,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Walla Walla County?
- Walla Walla County, Washington scores F (28/100) 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 mortgage premium at B- (+$191). 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 to do with Walla Walla County's HEAVY bill
Walla Walla County's $3,492 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Walla Walla County ranks #4 of 39 Washington counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Washington overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Walla Walla County's HEAVY median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.85%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,492/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Walla Walla County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Walla Walla County (UNDER · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER HEAVY
Portage County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Walla Walla County at $3,492/yr; rate 1.44% vs Walla Walla County 0.85%.
Marion County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,490/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.84% vs Walla Walla County 0.85%.
Mills County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,494/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.47% vs Walla Walla County 0.85%.
Door County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,486/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 1.02% vs Walla Walla County 0.85%.
Washington county set
State ACS overview for every published Washington county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Walla Walla County stamps UNDER · HEAVY - 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 Walla Walla County (UNDER · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.