Shelby County, Tennessee property tax
The median homeowner in Shelby County, Tennessee pays $2,376 a year in property tax on a home worth $229,700, an effective rate of 1.03%. The national effective rate is 0.98%.
What the rate means here
Shelby County taxes property at 1.03%, within a rounding error of the national 0.98%. The median bill of $2,376 therefore tracks the median home value of $229,700 fairly directly, which is not true everywhere.
Inside Tennessee it is one of the most heavily taxed counties there is, ranking #1 of 95, against a statewide 0.55%. At the other end of the same state, Cumberland County charges 0.31%. A spread that wide inside one state is normal, because school districts, not states, set most of the levy.
The median home costs 3.68 times the median household income of $62,337, close to the national 3.86. Incomes run below the national median, and house prices run below it too, which is what keeps the ratio ordinary. With 922,195 residents this is one of the larger counties in the country, so the medians here average across a genuinely varied housing market and hide a lot of local range.
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
| Shelby County | Tennessee | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax | 1.03% | 0.55% | 0.98% |
| Median tax bill | $2,376 | $1,400 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $229,700 | $256,800 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $1,170 | $1,122 | $1,348 |
| Median household income | $62,337 | $67,097 | $78,538 |
| Home price to income | 3.68× | 3.83× | 3.86× |
| Rent as share of income | 22.52% | 20.07% | 20.6% |
| Owner-occupied | 54.58% | 67.03% | 65.02% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates. Population 922,195.
Nearby counties of similar size
| County | Rate | Median bill | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson County | 0.62% | $2,390 | $386,600 |
| Knox County | 0.48% | $1,332 | $279,700 |
| Hamilton County | 0.67% | $1,888 | $282,100 |
| Rutherford County | 0.51% | $1,757 | $346,400 |
| Williamson County | 0.43% | $2,891 | $673,700 |
Shelby County property tax: common questions
What is the property tax rate in Shelby County, Tennessee?
The effective rate is 1.03% of home value, from a median tax bill of $2,376 against a median home value of $229,700. That is 0.05 points above the national 0.98%.
How much is property tax on a $400,000 home in Shelby County?
Roughly $4,120 a year at the county effective rate of 1.03%.
Is Shelby County expensive compared with the rest of Tennessee?
It ranks #1 of 95 Tennessee counties by effective property tax rate, and #992 of 2,826 nationally. That is 0.48 points above the Tennessee average of 0.55%.
What does housing cost in Shelby County?
The median home is worth $229,700 and median gross rent is $1,170 a month. Median household income is $62,337, which puts the home at 3.68 times annual income and rent at 22.52% of it.