Polk County, Tennessee property tax
The median homeowner in Polk County, Tennessee pays $770 a year in property tax on a home worth $136,400, an effective rate of 0.56%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
At 0.56%, Polk County taxes property more lightly than the national 0.98%. The bill works out at $770 a year. Low-rate counties usually have another revenue source doing the work, whether that is a state funding formula, sales tax or severance revenue from extraction.
It ranks #28 of 95 Tennessee counties by effective rate, against a statewide 0.55%, and #2,236 nationally. The state runs from 1.03% in Shelby County down to 0.31% in Cumberland County.
The median home costs 2.26 times the median household income of $60,227, against 3.86 nationally, which is a comfortable ratio by American standards. 84.14% of occupied homes are owned rather than rented, and cheap housing relative to income is usually why. This is a small rural county of 17,702 people. Five-year survey estimates for places this size carry wide margins of error, so treat the figures as approximate.
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
| Polk County | Tennessee | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 0.56% | 0.55% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $770 | $1,400 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $136,400 | $256,800 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $668 | $1,122 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $60,227 | $67,097 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 2.26× | 3.83× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 13.31% | 20.07% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 84.14% | 67.03% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 17,702.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haywood County | 0.71% | $854 | $119,600 |
| Unicoi County | 0.57% | $960 | $168,200 |
| Chester County | 0.54% | $837 | $155,200 |
| Johnson County | 0.38% | $673 | $175,500 |
| Fentress County | 0.34% | $519 | $151,800 |
Polk County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Polk County, Tennessee?
The effective rate is 0.56% of home value, from a median tax bill of $770 against a median home value of $136,400. That is 0.42 points below the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Polk County?
Roughly $2,240 a year at the county effective rate of 0.56%.
Is Polk County expensive compared with the rest of Tennessee?
It ranks #28 of 95 Tennessee counties by effective property tax rate, and #2236 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.01 points above the Tennessee average of 0.55%.
What does housing cost in Polk County?
The median home is worth $136,400 and median gross rent is $668 a month. Median household income is $60,227, which puts the home at 2.26 times annual income and rent at 13.31% of it.