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.
Tax affordability score · Waller County, TX
10/100
5 ACS dimensions · release 2024
Comparative score against U.S. county percentiles on Census ACS medians (effective rate, bill, income share, mortgage gap, home-value/income). Higher means more affordable on those published medians, not a recommendation to buy, sell, appeal, or move, and not your personal tax bill. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Median home value relative to Waller County's median income
Waller County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Waller County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median tax as a share of Waller County's median household income
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Waller County
Read the chart values
- Housing pressure: 21/100 (F) · 3.96×
- Rate relief: 20/100 (F) · 1.27%
- Bill size: 6/100 (F) · $4,046/yr
- Income room: 4/100 (F) · 5.0%
- Mortgage premium: 0/100 (F) · +$2,007
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
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.
What This Data Tells Us About Waller County
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).
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Waller County as reported to the Census Bureau, your own bill can differ based on your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, special districts, and municipal overlays. Always consult your county assessor, tax collector, or a qualified professional before making 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.
How Waller County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Waller County's effective rate is higher than 60% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #100 of 250 for property tax burden.
Where Waller County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.27% more affordable than 20% 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
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.
Think your Waller County HEAVY bill is out of line at PAR?
On Waller County's published figures (PAR · HEAVY), a $318,700 median home carries a $4,046 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $405 a year at the same rate. Whether an appeal is worth filing depends on your own parcel. Use our free Appeal Savings Estimator to run your own numbers, then read our step-by-step appeal guide for the procedure in Texas.
Property Tax History · PAR · 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.
Tax Burden
Tax Affordability Score
An effective rate well above the national average of 0.92% puts Waller County in the "Moderate" band for property tax burden.
How this score is calculated: a 1-10 scale derived mechanically from the ratio of this county's effective rate to the national average effective rate (0.92%) - a ratio at or below 0.5× scores 10, a ratio at or above 2.0× scores 1, with a linear scale between. It is a factual comparison of Census figures only, not a recommendation, quality rating, or endorsement of Waller County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
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
What tax filers report in Waller County
Of the 24,760 federal returns filed from Waller County in 2022, 1,800 (7.3% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $10,004 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $200k+, who accounted for 36% of the county's reporting returns.
Two things this does not say. The amount is what filers reported, recorded before the $10,000 cap on combined state and local tax deductions applies, so it is not the amount deducted. And the share is of everyone who files a return, not of homeowners: most filers now take the standard deduction, so a minority itemise at all. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Texas
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Waller County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Waller County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Waller County, Texas? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Waller County? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Waller County? ▼
What to do with Waller County's numbers
- 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.
- Waller County ranks #100 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
- If Waller County's assessment looks high versus the $318,700 typical home, check Texas's filing window and evidence rules before the notice deadline passes. How to appeal →
Effective-rate definition
Effective rate is the county median tax divided by the county median home value ($318,700); your parcel's assessed value, exemptions, and local levies determine your actual bill. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
Nationwide peers by effective rate & median bill
Two PlainPropertyTax-derived comparison paths for Waller County, both outside Texas so the link neighborhoods are not the same-state geography lattice. Axes stay disjoint: median-bill peers exclude the effective-rate peer set.
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.
Share and download this county card
Editorial standards and provenance
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on the Census ACS county-level record for Waller County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.