Mississippi · County property tax · ACS 2024
Washington County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Washington County pays $891 a year, an effective rate of 0.86%, far below the U.S. average.
- $891
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.86%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -55%
- vs U.S. average
- #19 of 81
- rank in MS
The verdict
Homeowners in Washington County pay a median $891 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.86%, more affordable than 46% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $891
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.86%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1703 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -55%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($104,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Mississippi. Population: 42,765. Owner-occupied homes: 10,301.
The median annual property tax in Washington County is $891, which is 27% lower than the Mississippi state average and 55% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.86% on a median home value of $104,000. Property taxes represent 2.1% of the median household income in this county.
Why Washington County's ACS bill runs light vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Washington County pay a median annual property tax of $891, far below the national median and well below the Mississippi state median. On a $104,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.86% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Mississippi counties by effective rate
Washington County ranks #19 of 81 counties in Mississippi by effective rate (77% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Washington County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $42,165 median household income.
Decision signal 4
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Washington County's 0.86% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 46%).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Washington 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
Washington County's effective rate fell 12.8% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 29.0%, leaving the median bill 12.5% higher at $891. That rate move is larger than the one in 53% 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 $792 to $891, a gain of 13%. 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: 4,474 of 10,301 owner-occupied homes (43.4%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
This county earns in the bottom quarter of the country and taxes above the median rate, so the median bill absorbs 2.1% of median household income. The rate alone understates that; it is the pairing that matters.
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 Washington County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Washington County homeowners, 4,474 of 10,301 owner-occupied homes (43.4%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 43.4% (4,474)
- $800 to $1,499 17.9% (1,847)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.7% (694)
- $2,000 to $2,999 10.4% (1,072)
- $3,000 or more 11.8% (1,218)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
996 homes here (9.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Mississippi handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Washington County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+147%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Washington County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Washington County's LIGHT ACS 2024 figure.
Washington County's median bill is 27% below the Mississippi median and 55% below the U.S. median.
A high rate, a smaller bill
Washington County taxes property at 0.86%, about 19% above the Mississippi average, yet its median bill of $891 lands roughly 27% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Washington County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Washington County | Mississippi Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.1% | - | - |
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.
Washington County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Mississippi counties.
Washington County bill trail · LIGHT
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $891 +6.5% | 0.86% |
| 2023 | $837 -1.4% | 0.84% |
| 2022 | $849 +7.1% | 0.91% |
| 2021 | $793 +0.1% | 0.99% |
| 2020 | $792 | 0.98% |
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.
Washington County: tax-to-income at 2.1%
Counties near Washington County's median bill
On effective rate, Washington County sits nearest Swift County (MN), Pipestone County (MN), Pine County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Danville city (VA), James City County (VA), Cumberland County (NJ).
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
Washington County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 730 of 18,140 returns from Washington County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,952 - 25% 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 Mississippi
Washington County bill FAQs
- How does Washington County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Washington County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.86% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Washington County?
- Property taxes in Washington County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $42,165 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Washington County, Mississippi?
- The median annual property tax in Washington County is $891, an effective rate of 0.86% on a $104,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Washington County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Washington County climbed 12.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $792 to $891, 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 tax affordability score for Washington County?
- Washington County, Mississippi scores C (56/100) 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 bill size at A- ($891/yr). 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 Washington County's LIGHT bill
Washington County's $891 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 →
Washington County ranks #19 of 81 Mississippi counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Mississippi overview →
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Washington County's LIGHT 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: 0.86%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $891/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Washington County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Washington County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Monroe County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Washington County at $891/yr; rate 0.77% vs Washington County 0.86%.
Nowata County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Washington County at $891/yr; rate 0.65% vs Washington County 0.86%.
Chester County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · $890/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.56% vs Washington County 0.86%.
Greene County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $890/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.43% vs Washington County 0.86%.
Mississippi county set
State ACS overview for every published Mississippi county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Washington County stamps UNDER · 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 Washington County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.