Property tax in Southampton County, Virginia

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Southampton County, Virginia is $1,418 a year, which is about 0.66% of the county's median home value of $216,200. That effective rate is higher than the typical Virginia county (0.6%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Southampton County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Southampton County's average effective rate of 0.66% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $1,427 / year

Property tax in Southampton County at a glance

Southampton County, Virginia property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,418
Median home value	$216,200
Effective tax rate	0.66%
Typical Virginia county rate	0.6%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Southampton County compare in Virginia?

Among Virginia's 133 counties, Southampton County has the 52nd highest effective property-tax rate: 51 rank higher and 81 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Virginia. Nationally, it ranks 2059th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Virginia county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Southampton County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Southampton County's 5,227 owner-occupied homes, 13.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 28.5% pay at least $2,000, and 18.4% pay under $800. Another 4.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Southampton County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	960	18.4%
$800 to $1,499	1,765	33.8%
$1,500 to $1,999	796	15.2%
$2,000 to $2,999	790	15.1%
$3,000 or more	700	13.4%
No property tax paid	216	4.1%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,544 and owners without one pay $1,272. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

How does the Southampton County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,418 is about 1.6% of the median income of Southampton County homeowner households, $87,396 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 76.1% of Southampton County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Southampton County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,289 in 2015-2019 to $1,418 in 2020-2024, a 10% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 21.1%, from $178,500 to $216,200. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Southampton County

Southampton County borders 9 counties, 3 of them across the state line.

Southampton County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Northampton County, NC	1.08%	$1,239	$114,500
Hertford County, NC	0.98%	$1,168	$119,200
Suffolk city, VA	0.93%	$3,229	$347,400
Gates County, NC	0.76%	$1,296	$170,800
Franklin city, VA	0.71%	$1,821	$256,600
Isle of Wight County, VA	0.7%	$2,510	$356,500
Surry County, VA	0.69%	$1,651	$238,800
Southampton County, VA (this county)	0.66%	$1,418	$216,200
Sussex County, VA	0.59%	$1,078	$183,800
Greensville County, VA	0.54%	$855	$159,400

How is a home assessed in Southampton County?

Virginia assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Southampton County included. How Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Southampton County?

No. Virginia has no general homestead exemption; relief is limited to the elderly and disabled, disabled veterans, and surviving spouses of service members and first responders killed in the line of duty. That is the Virginia rule, and it applies in Southampton County. Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Southampton County?

Set locally. Each county, city or town bills on its own schedule, commonly semiannually, and sets its own due dates and late penalties. Virginia has no statewide due date.

That is the Virginia rule. Southampton County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Southampton County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the Local Board of Equalization, then circuit court. That is the Virginia rule; Southampton County sets the exact dates and forms. The Virginia appeal process step by step.

Virginia rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Virginia page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Southampton County, Virginia: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.