(The Center Square) – Median property tax bills in North Carolina rank 32nd nationally, though the amount paid ranges widely by county from $742 to $3,784 per year, according to a recent analysis.
A report on property taxes released last week by the Tax Foundation, the world’s leading nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit, examined property taxes across the country, which comprised the largest share of state and local tax collections at 32.2% in 2020.
Local governments rely on those taxes to fund schools, roads, law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services, making up more than 72% of local revenues in 2020.
For statewide figures, the Tax Foundation examined effective 2021 tax rates on owner-occupied housing, with the average amount of residential property taxes paid expressed as a percentage of home value. The percentages are based on a five-year estimate.
In North Carolina, that percentage in 2021 was .82%, putting the Old North State at 32nd nationally, or at the 19th lowest rate among 50 states. Neighboring South Carolina’s 2021 rate ranked 45th at .57%, while Georgia ranked 25th at .92%, Tennessee ranked 37th at .67%, and Virginia ranked 28th at .87%. Alabama had the lowest rate in the southeast, ranked 49th at .40%.
A breakdown by county shows the highest property tax taxes are levied in counties that include or surround North Carolina’s largest metropolitan areas, including Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, Charlotte, Asheville, Wilmington, and Elizabeth City.
The highest median property tax bill for 2021 was in Orange County at $3,784, followed by Durham County at $2,696, Wake County at $2,668, Mecklenburg County at $2,489, and Chatham County at $2,431. The lowest rate was in Bertie County at $701, followed by Graham County at $742, McDowell County at $752, Avery County at $764, and Duplin County at $770.
Across all 100 North Carolina counties, 30 counties had property tax bills below $1,000, 64 had bills between $1,000 and $2,000, and six counties had bills over $2,000. Geographically, the lowest taxed counties were generally in the western end of the state, along the southern border, and in rural areas of east central North Carolina.
“In calendar year 2021 (the most recent data available), New Jersey had the highest effective rate on owner-occupied property at 2.23 percent, followed by Illinois (2.08 percent) and New Hampshire (1.93 percent),” according to the Tax Foundation. “Hawaii was at the other end of the spectrum with the lowest effective rate of 0.32 percent, followed closely by Alabama (0.40 percent), Colorado (0.55 percent), and Wyoming (0.56 percent).”
The highest 2021 tax bills in the country by county were concentrated around New York City, with Nassau, Rochester and Westchester counties in New York, along with Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex, Union, and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey at $10,000 a year or more.
