Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Zavala County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Zavala County pays $1,512 a year, an effective rate of 1.53%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,512
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.53%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- -24%
- vs U.S. average
- #40 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Zavala County pay a median $1,512 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.53%, more affordable than 10% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,512
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.53%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2829 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -24%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($98,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 9,412. Owner-occupied homes: 2,258.
The median annual property tax in Zavala County is $1,512, which is 64% lower than the Texas state average and 24% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.53% on a median home value of $98,800. Property taxes represent 4.1% of the median household income in this county.
Zavala County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national headwind
Zavala County's 1.53% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 90% pay more.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Texas median
Homeowners in Zavala County pay a median annual property tax of $1,512, notably lower than the national median and far below the Texas state median. On a $98,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.53% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Texas counties by effective rate
Zavala County ranks #40 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (84% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has jumped 20.6%, from $1,254 to $1,512. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Zavala County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.1% of the $36,749 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Zavala 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 62% from $935 to $1,512. 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: 739 of 2,258 owner-occupied homes (32.7%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
This is the least forgiving PAIRING in the data, bottom-quartile household income with a top-quartile effective rate, putting the median bill at 4.1% of median household income. Neither figure is remarkable on its own; the combination is, and the ratio above is the only part of it a household actually feels.
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 Zavala County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Zavala County homeowners, 739 of 2,258 owner-occupied homes (32.7%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 32.7% (739)
- $800 to $1,499 15.6% (352)
- $1,500 to $1,999 22.1% (500)
- $2,000 to $2,999 6.8% (154)
- $3,000 or more 20.4% (461)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
52 homes here (2.3%) 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 Zavala County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+91%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Zavala County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Zavala County's effective rate is higher than 84% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #40 of 250.
Where Zavala County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.53% more affordable than 10% 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 highest-taxed counties in the country
At 1.53%, Zavala County sits in the top 10% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. That is the rate, not the bill: a high rate on a modest home can still produce a smaller cheque than a low rate on an expensive one, which is why the $1,512 median bill is the number to compare against another county.
Zavala County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Zavala County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.1% | - | - |
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.
Zavala County's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Zavala County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $98,800 median home carries a $1,512 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $151 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Texas.
Zavala County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,512 +20.6% | 1.53% |
| 2023 | $1,254 +13.7% | 1.42% |
| 2022 | $1,103 +20.4% | 1.43% |
| 2021 | $916 -2.0% | 1.45% |
| 2020 | $935 | 1.57% |
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.
Zavala County: tax takes 4.1% of income
Counties near Zavala County's effective rate
On effective rate, Zavala County sits nearest Summit County (OH), Lancaster County (NE), Clinton County (IA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Sioux County (ND), Yazoo County (MS), Plaquemines Parish (LA).
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
Zavala County: only 1% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 30 of 4,170 returns from Zavala County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,767 - 100% 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 Texas
Zavala County rate FAQs
- How does Zavala County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Zavala County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.53% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Zavala County?
- Zavala County, Texas scores F (25/100) 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 housing pressure at C+ (2.69×). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Zavala County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Zavala County is recorded at $1,512 in the 2024 5-year release against $935 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 2,258 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What is the average property tax in Zavala County, Texas?
- The median annual property tax in Zavala County is $1,512, an effective rate of 1.53% on a $98,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Zavala County?
- Property taxes in Zavala County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.1% of the $36,749 median household income.
What to do with Zavala County's STEEP rate
Inside Texas, Zavala County's $1,512 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Texas overview →
Zavala County ranks #40 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Zavala County's STEEP 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: 1.53%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,512/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Zavala County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Zavala County (STEEP · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Greenville County, SC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Zavala County at $1,512/yr; rate 0.51% vs Zavala County 1.53%.
Hamilton County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Zavala County at $1,512/yr; rate 1.33% vs Zavala County 1.53%.
San Saba County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,513/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.90% vs Zavala County 1.53%.
Crisp County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,510/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.08% vs Zavala County 1.53%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Zavala County stamps STEEP · MID - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 Zavala County (STEEP · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.