Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Waller County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Waller County pays $4,046 a year, an effective rate of 1.27%, far above the U.S. average.
- $4,046
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.27%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +103%
- vs U.S. average
- #100 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Waller County pay a median $4,046 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.27%, more affordable than 20% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $4,046
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.27%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2505 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +103%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($318,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 61,552. Owner-occupied homes: 13,209.
The median annual property tax in Waller County is $4,046, which is 4% lower than the Texas state average and 103% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.27% on a median home value of $318,700. Property taxes represent 5.0% of the median household income in this county.
Why Waller County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Waller County pay a median annual property tax of $4,046, far above the national median and modestly below the Texas state median. On a $318,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.27% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Waller County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.0% of the $80,397 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Waller County's 1.27% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 20%).
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Texas counties by effective rate
Waller County ranks #100 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (60% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Waller 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
Waller County's effective rate fell 15.4% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 43.1%, leaving the median bill 21.1% higher at $4,046. That rate move is larger than the one in 66% 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 $3,341 to $4,046, a gain of 21%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 7,440 of 13,209 owner-occupied homes (56.3%) 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 figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 5.0% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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 Waller County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Waller County homeowners, 7,440 of 13,209 owner-occupied homes (56.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 11.8% (1,565)
- $800 to $1,499 8.0% (1,055)
- $1,500 to $1,999 4.6% (610)
- $2,000 to $2,999 10.6% (1,404)
- $3,000 or more 56.3% (7,440)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,135 homes here (8.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Waller County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+68%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Waller County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Waller County's HEAVY ACS 2024 figure.
Waller County's median bill is 4% below the Texas median and 103% above the U.S. median.
Same bill as Texas, a lower rate
The median bill lands within 4% of the Texas median while the effective rate runs 15% below it. The two offset each other: a gentler rate applied to more valuable housing arrives at roughly the state's own $4,046. A rate ranking would place this county far from the middle; the bill does not.
Waller County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Waller County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 5.0% | - | - |
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 Waller County's $4,046 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Waller County's $4,046 ACS median (HEAVY), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $405/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Texas.
Waller County bill trail · HEAVY
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,046 +1.9% | 1.27% |
| 2023 | $3,971 -0.9% | 1.36% |
| 2022 | $4,006 +11.1% | 1.49% |
| 2021 | $3,606 +7.9% | 1.49% |
| 2020 | $3,341 | 1.50% |
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.
Waller County: tax takes 5.0% of income
Counties near Waller County's median bill
On effective rate, Waller County sits nearest Bon Homme County (SD), Venango County (PA), Greene County (PA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Spotsylvania County (VA), Kanawha County (WV), Coffee County (AL).
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
Waller County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,800 of 24,760 returns from Waller County reported real estate taxes, averaging $10,004 - 36% 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 Texas
Waller County bill FAQs
- How does Waller County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Waller County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.27% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Waller County?
- Property taxes in Waller County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.0% of the $80,397 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Waller County, Texas?
- The median annual property tax in Waller County is $4,046, an effective rate of 1.27% on a $318,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Waller County?
- Waller County, Texas scores F (10/100) 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 housing pressure at F (3.96×). 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 Waller County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Waller County jumped 21.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $3,341 to $4,046, 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 Waller County's HEAVY bill
Waller County's $4,046 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 5.0% of Waller County's $80,397 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Waller 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: 1.27%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $4,046/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Waller County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Waller County (PAR · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR HEAVY
Iowa County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,038/yr (near-tied bill ABS $8); rate 1.52% vs Waller County 1.27%.
Berkshire County, MA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,036/yr (near-tied bill ABS $10); rate 1.32% vs Waller County 1.27%.
Greene County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,056/yr (near-tied bill ABS $10); rate 1.49% vs Waller County 1.27%.
Walworth County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $4,036/yr (near-tied bill ABS $10); rate 1.33% vs Waller County 1.27%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Waller County stamps PAR · 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 Waller County (PAR · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.