North Carolina · County property tax · ACS 2024
Wilson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Wilson County pays $1,471 a year, an effective rate of 0.79%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,471
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.79%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -26%
- vs U.S. average
- #22 of 100
- rank in NC
The verdict
Homeowners in Wilson County pay a median $1,471 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.79%, more affordable than 51% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,471
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.79%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1538 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -26%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($186,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for North Carolina. Population: 79,290. Owner-occupied homes: 19,856.
The median annual property tax in Wilson County is $1,471, which is 22% lower than the North Carolina state average and 26% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.79% on a median home value of $186,000. Property taxes represent 2.6% of the median household income in this county.
Wilson County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Wilson County's 0.79% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 51%).
Decision signal 2
Low among North Carolina counties by effective rate
Wilson County ranks #22 of 100 counties in North Carolina by effective rate (78% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Wilson County pay a median annual property tax of $1,471, well below the national median and notably lower than the North Carolina state median. On a $186,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.79% 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 Wilson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $56,423 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Wilson 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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Wilson County rose 46.3%, from $127,100 to $186,000. The effective rate fell 22.9% over the same span, a steeper move than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 12.9%, to $1,471. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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 $1,303 to $1,471, 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 fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 5,570 of 19,856 owner-occupied homes (28.1%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Incomes here are in the lowest quarter nationally while the rate sits just below the middle, and the median bill lands at 2.6% of median household income. The rate reads as unremarkable in a national ranking; the earnings behind it are not, and the ratio above is where the two meet.
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 Wilson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Wilson County homeowners, 5,570 of 19,856 owner-occupied homes (28.1%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 20.3% (4,030)
- $800 to $1,499 28.1% (5,570)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.5% (2,672)
- $2,000 to $2,999 18.8% (3,727)
- $3,000 or more 13.8% (2,748)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,109 homes here (5.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how North Carolina handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Wilson County pay a substantially higher bill, 51% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Wilson County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Wilson County's effective rate is higher than 78% of the 100 counties in North Carolina - ranking #22 of 100.
Where Wilson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.79% more affordable than 51% 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
Wilson County taxes property at 0.79%, about 20% above the North Carolina average, yet its median bill of $1,471 lands roughly 22% 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.
Wilson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Wilson County | North Carolina Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.6% | - | - |
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.
Wilson County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · North Carolina counties.
Wilson County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,471 +3.0% | 0.79% |
| 2023 | $1,428 +1.1% | 0.83% |
| 2022 | $1,413 +7.8% | 0.92% |
| 2021 | $1,311 +0.6% | 1.01% |
| 2020 | $1,303 | 1.03% |
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.
Wilson County: tax-to-income at 2.6%
Counties near Wilson County's effective rate
On effective rate, Wilson County sits nearest Wheeler County (NE), Lewis and Clark County (MT), Scotland County (MO).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Vernon County (WI), Stevens County (KS), Oneida County (NY).
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
Wilson County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,600 of 36,350 returns from Wilson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,409 - 33% 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 North Carolina
Wilson County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Wilson County, North Carolina?
- The median annual property tax in Wilson County is $1,471, an effective rate of 0.79% on a $186,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Wilson County?
- Wilson County, North Carolina scores D (45/100) 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 C ($1,471/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.
- How does Wilson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Wilson County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.79% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Wilson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Wilson County climbed 12.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,303 to $1,471, 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 Wilson County?
- Property taxes in Wilson County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $56,423 median household income.
What to do with Wilson County's UNDER rate
Wilson County's $1,471 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 →
Wilson County ranks #22 of 100 North Carolina counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. North Carolina overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Wilson County's UNDER 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: 0.79%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,471/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Wilson County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Wilson County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Murray County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Wilson County at $1,471/yr; rate 0.79% vs Wilson County 0.79%.
Knox County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,472/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.15% vs Wilson County 0.79%.
Wheeler County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,470/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.39% vs Wilson County 0.79%.
Belmont County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,469/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.95% vs Wilson County 0.79%.
North Carolina county set
State ACS overview for every published North Carolina county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Wilson 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 Wilson County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.