Property Tax 101

The median property tax (also known as real estate tax) in McDowell County is $521.00 per year, based on a median home value of $99,200.00 and a median effective property tax rate of 0.53% of property value.

McDowell County collects fairly low property taxes, and is among the lower 25% of all counties in the United States ranked by property tax collections. Of the one-hundred--no counties in North Carolina, McDowell County is ranked 98th by median property taxes, and 81st by median tax as percentage of home value.

While McDowell County collects a median of 0.53% of a property's each year as property tax, the actual amount of property tax collected is lower compared to the rest of North Carolina. This is partially because the median property value in McDowell County is $56,300.00 lower than the North Carolina median property value of $155,500.00.

• County Tax Comparison
• National Tax Comparison
• Other North Carolina Counties
• Property Lookup

98th out of 100 By median yearly property tax

81st out of 100 By percentage of median home value

100th out of 100 By percentage of median income

You can see how McDowell County (highlighted in green) compares to the one-hundred--no other counties in North Carolina with the bar chart above, sorted by median property tax in dollars. For a visual map of county property tax rates in North Carolina, see our North Carolina county property tax map.

Remember: Real estate prices also play a large part in which North Carolina counties have the highest and lowest median property taxes. Higher-valued properties will generally have higher taxes, even if the median percentage of home value levied as property tax is different. For comparisons, you can also use Percentage Of Home Value.

Property tax assessments in McDowell County are the responsibility of the McDowell County Tax Assessor, whose office is located in Marion, North Carolina.

If you need to pay your property tax bill, ask about a property tax assessment, look up the McDowell County property tax due date, or find property tax records, visit the McDowell County Tax Assessor's page. Applications for the McDowell County homestead exemption, any property tax appeals, and applications for a current use tax reduction must also be submitted to the McDowell County Assessor's Office.

For some properties, you can easily find the most recent tax assessment by looking up the property address with our property records search. You can also use our McDowell County Property Tax Calculator to estimate your property tax based on median tax values (results open in new page).