Columbus County, North Carolina property tax
The median homeowner in Columbus County, North Carolina pays $1,120 a year in property tax on a home worth $128,300, an effective rate of 0.87%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
Columbus County taxes property at 0.87%, within a rounding error of the national 0.98%. The median bill of $1,120 therefore tracks the median home value of $128,300 fairly directly, which is not true everywhere.
It ranks #16 of 98 North Carolina counties by effective rate, against a statewide 0.70%, and #1,310 nationally. The state runs from 1.21% in Northampton County down to 0.37% in Jackson County.
The median home costs 2.66 times the median household income of $48,184, against 3.86 nationally, which is a comfortable ratio by American standards. 72.26% of occupied homes are owned rather than rented, and cheap housing relative to income is usually why. With 50,453 residents, the sample behind these medians is small, and the survey's own margins of error are correspondingly wider.
The rate is derived rather than quoted. How and why.
What that costs at different home values
Arithmetic at the county effective rate, before any exemption or assessment cap.
Housing and income
| Columbus County | North Carolina | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 0.87% | 0.70% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $1,120 | $1,815 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $128,300 | $259,400 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $775 | $1,162 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $48,184 | $69,904 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 2.66× | 3.71× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 19.3% | 19.95% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 72.26% | 66.37% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 50,453.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duplin County | 0.74% | $912 | $123,200 |
| Edgecombe County | 1.10% | $1,282 | $116,800 |
| Halifax County | 1.13% | $1,163 | $102,500 |
| Hoke County | 0.69% | $1,357 | $196,000 |
| Watauga County | 0.41% | $1,334 | $321,500 |
Columbus County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Columbus County, North Carolina?
The effective rate is 0.87% of home value, from a median tax bill of $1,120 against a median home value of $128,300. That is 0.11 points below the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Columbus County?
Roughly $3,480 a year at the county effective rate of 0.87%.
Is Columbus County expensive compared with the rest of North Carolina?
It ranks #16 of 98 North Carolina counties by effective property tax rate, and #1310 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.17 points above the North Carolina average of 0.70%.
What does housing cost in Columbus County?
The median home is worth $128,300 and median gross rent is $775 a month. Median household income is $48,184, which puts the home at 2.66 times annual income and rent at 19.3% of it.