Georgia · County property tax · ACS 2024
Wilkes County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Wilkes County pays $1,292 a year, an effective rate of 1.05%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,292
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.05%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -35%
- vs U.S. average
- #27 of 158
- rank in GA
The verdict
Homeowners in Wilkes County pay a median $1,292 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.05%, more affordable than 32% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,292
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.05%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2145 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -35%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($122,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Tax affordability score · Wilkes County, GA
49/100
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 Wilkes County's median income
Wilkes County's median annual property-tax bill vs U.S. counties
Median tax as a share of Wilkes County's median household income
Mortgaged vs free-and-clear median bill gap in Wilkes County
Wilkes County's effective rate vs U.S. county percentiles (ACS 2024)
Read the chart values
- Housing pressure: 76/100 (B+) · 2.36×
- Bill size: 64/100 (C+) · $1,292/yr
- Income room: 49/100 (D) · 2.5%
- Mortgage premium: 45/100 (D) · +$356
- Rate relief: 33/100 (F) · 1.05%
Track this county alongside up to five others. Saved figures refresh when the annual source data changes.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Georgia. Population: 9,549. Owner-occupied homes: 2,731.
The median annual property tax in Wilkes County is $1,292, which is 45% lower than the Georgia state average and 35% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.05% on a median home value of $122,700. Property taxes represent 2.5% of the median household income in this county.
What This Data Tells Us About Wilkes County
Primary signal
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Wilkes County pay a median annual property tax of $1,292, well below the national median and well below the Georgia state median. On a $122,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.05% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Low among Georgia counties by effective rate
Wilkes County ranks #27 of 158 counties in Georgia by effective rate (83% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Wilkes County's 1.05% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 32%).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Wilkes County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.5% of the $52,043 median household income.
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 8.2%, from $1,194 to $1,292. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures describe the median homeowner household in Wilkes 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 29% from $1,005 to $1,292. 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 largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 718 of 2,731 owner-occupied homes (26.3%) 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 2.5% 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 Wilkes County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Wilkes County homeowners, 718 of 2,731 owner-occupied homes (26.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 26.3% (718)
- $800 to $1,499 25.2% (689)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.1% (166)
- $2,000 to $2,999 10.5% (286)
- $3,000 or more 18.5% (505)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
367 homes here (13.4%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Georgia handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Wilkes County pay a substantially higher bill, 30% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
How Wilkes County compares
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Wilkes County's effective rate is higher than 83% of the 158 counties in Georgia - ranking #27 of 158 for property tax burden.
Where Wilkes County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.05% more affordable than 32% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Wilkes County taxes property at 1.05%, about 36% above the Georgia average, yet its median bill of $1,292 lands roughly 45% 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.
Wilkes County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Wilkes County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.5% | - | - |
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 Wilkes County LIGHT bill is out of line at PAR?
On Wilkes County's published figures (PAR · LIGHT), a $122,700 median home carries a $1,292 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $129 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 Georgia.
Property Tax History · PAR · LIGHT
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,292 +8.2% | 1.05% |
| 2023 | $1,194 +0.0% | 1.14% |
| 2022 | $1,194 +17.9% | 1.29% |
| 2021 | $1,013 +0.8% | 1.27% |
| 2020 | $1,005 | 1.27% |
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 notably higher than the national average of 0.92% puts Wilkes County in the "Affordable" 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 Wilkes County or any other county.
Counties with similar tax profiles
On effective rate, Wilkes County sits nearest Kearny County (KS), Barry County (MI), Cottonwood County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Granite County (MT), Coosa County (AL), La Paz County (AZ).
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 Wilkes County
Of the 4,230 federal returns filed from Wilkes County in 2022, 170 (4.0% of filers) itemised and reported real estate taxes on Schedule A, averaging $3,153 each. The largest group was filers with adjusted gross income of $100-200k, who accounted for 35% 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 Georgia
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Wilkes County property tax compare to the national average? ▼
Are property taxes increasing in Wilkes County? ▼
What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Wilkes County? ▼
What is the average property tax in Wilkes County, Georgia? ▼
What is the tax affordability score for Wilkes County? ▼
What to do with Wilkes County's numbers
- Wilkes County's $1,292 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 →
- Wilkes County ranks #27 of 158 Georgia counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Georgia overview →
- If Wilkes County's assessment looks high versus the $122,700 typical home, check Georgia'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 ($122,700); 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 Wilkes County, both outside Georgia 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: 1.05%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,292/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Wilkes County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Wilkes County (PAR · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR LIGHT
Hayes County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,294/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.01% vs Wilkes County 1.05%.
Ontonagon County, MI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,294/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.16% vs Wilkes County 1.05%.
Richmond County, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,290/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.56% vs Wilkes County 1.05%.
Anderson County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,289/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.54% vs Wilkes County 1.05%.
Georgia county set
State ACS overview for every published Georgia county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Wilkes County stamps PAR · 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.
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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 Wilkes County. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-09.