North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Watauga County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Watauga County pays $1,386 a year, an effective rate of 0.39%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,386
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.39%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -30%
- vs U.S. average
- #98 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Watauga County pay a median $1,386 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.39%, more affordable than 94% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,386
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.39%
- Effective rate on median home
- #199 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -30%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($358,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 55,123. Owner-occupied homes: 13,157.
The median annual property tax in Watauga County is $1,386, which is 27% lower than the North Carolina state average and 30% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.39% on a median home value of $358,900. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.
Watauga County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Watauga County's 0.39% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 94% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
High among North Carolina counties by effective rate
Watauga County ranks #98 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (2% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Watauga County pay a median annual property tax of $1,386, well below the national median and well below the North Carolina state median. On a $358,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.39% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Watauga County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $51,693 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Watauga 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
Watauga County's effective rate fell 12.9% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 45.9%, leaving the median bill 27.0% higher at $1,386. That rate move is larger than the one in 54% 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 27% from $1,091 to $1,386. 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 4,533 of 13,157 owner-occupied homes (34.5%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 2.7% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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 Watauga County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Watauga County homeowners, 4,533 of 13,157 owner-occupied homes (34.5%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 20.1% (2,645)
- $800 to $1,499 34.5% (4,533)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.2% (1,603)
- $2,000 to $2,999 16.0% (2,111)
- $3,000 or more 14.8% (1,941)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
324 homes here (2.5%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Watauga County, mortgaged homeowners pay 23% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Watauga County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Watauga County's effective rate is higher than 2% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #98 of 100.
Where Watauga County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.39% Among the most affordable more affordable than 94% 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 0.39%, Watauga County sits in the lowest 6% 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 $1,386, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Watauga County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Watauga County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.7% | - | - |
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.
Watauga County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Carolina counties.
Watauga County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,386 +3.9% | 0.39% |
| 2023 | $1,334 +9.3% | 0.41% |
| 2022 | $1,220 +7.9% | 0.43% |
| 2021 | $1,131 +3.7% | 0.45% |
| 2020 | $1,091 | 0.44% |
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.
Watauga County: tax-to-income at 2.7%
Counties near Watauga County's effective rate
On effective rate, Watauga County sits nearest St. Mary Parish (LA), Sabine Parish (LA), Boundary County (ID).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Canyon County (ID), Miner County (SD), Humphreys County (TN).
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
Watauga County: only 7% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,510 of 20,480 returns from Watauga County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,223 - 38% 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 North Carolina
Watauga County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Watauga County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Watauga County is $1,386, an effective rate of 0.39% on a $358,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Watauga County?
- Watauga County, North Carolina scores C+ (60/100) 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+ (0.39%). 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.
- How does Watauga County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Watauga County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.39% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Watauga County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Watauga County jumped 27.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,091 to $1,386, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Watauga County?
- Property taxes in Watauga County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $51,693 median household income.
What to do with Watauga County's QUIET rate
Watauga County's $1,386 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 →
Watauga County ranks #98 of 100 North Carolina counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. North Carolina overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Watauga 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: 0.39%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,386/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Watauga County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Watauga County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Gila County, AZ
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Watauga County at $1,386/yr; rate 0.51% vs Watauga County 0.39%.
Grady County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Watauga County at $1,386/yr; rate 0.91% vs Watauga County 0.39%.
Swift County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Watauga County at $1,386/yr; rate 0.86% vs Watauga County 0.39%.
Bristol city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,387/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.75% vs Watauga County 0.39%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Watauga 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 Watauga County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.