Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

July 10, 2008 issue

What Are Your Neighbors Paying?

Property Tax Rates in Neighboring Counties

Story by Kathleen McFadden

The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners recently published its statewide county property tax survey, showing the rates property owners across the state will pay in ad valorem taxes for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Here are the 2008-09 ad valorem tax rates per $100 of valuation in nearby counties:
Alleghany: 0.43, no change from 2007-08
Ashe: 0.425, an increase of 0.03 from the 2007-08 rate of 0.395
Avery: 0.39, no change from 2007-08
Caldwell: 0.6599, no change from 2007-08
Mitchell: 0.52, no change from 2007-08
Watauga: .313, no change from 2007-08
Wilkes: 0.57, no change from 2007-08
Yancey: 0.45, a decrease from 2007-08’s 0.50, but the county had a property reevaluation and the revenue-neutral tax rate would have been 0.3339

According to the NCACC survey, most citizens in North Carolina won’t see an increase in their county property taxes for 2008-09. Of the state’s 100 counties, only 25 adopted budgets that included property tax increases for 2008-09, the smallest number of increases in one year since 1998-99, when fewer than 20 counties raised property taxes. In addition, six counties were able to reduce their property tax rate for the new fiscal year, but none of those counties is in the High Country.

Locally, six counties of the eight did not increase their tax rates. Watauga County has the lowest tax rate in the High Country, as well as one of the lowest tax rates statewide. Only five counties charge a lower rate than Watauga County: Brunswick (0.305), Carteret (0.23), Dare (0.26), Jackson (0.28) and Macon (0.2641).

The six North Carolina counties with the highest tax rates are Scotland (1.02), Orange (0.998), Gates (0.975), Edgecombe (0.94), Warren (0.92) and Hertford (0.91).