Property tax in McDowell County, West Virginia

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in McDowell County, West Virginia is $337 a year, which is about 0.67% of the county's median home value of $50,000. That effective rate is higher than the typical West Virginia county (0.49%) 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 McDowell County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at McDowell County's average effective rate of 0.67% (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: $335 / year

Property tax in McDowell County at a glance

McDowell County, West Virginia property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$337
Median home value	$50,000
Effective tax rate	0.67%
Typical West Virginia county rate	0.49%
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 McDowell County compare in West Virginia?

Among West Virginia's 55 counties, McDowell County has the 2nd highest effective property-tax rate: 1 rank higher and 53 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 2018th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every West Virginia county ranked.

How much do homeowners in McDowell County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across McDowell County's 4,997 owner-occupied homes, 0.3% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 1.3% pay at least $2,000, and 58.3% pay under $800. Another 34.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by McDowell County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	2,913	58.3%
$800 to $1,499	269	5.4%
$1,500 to $1,999	4	0.1%
$2,000 to $2,999	52	1%
$3,000 or more	16	0.3%
No property tax paid	1,743	34.9%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $586 and owners without one pay $309. 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 McDowell County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $337 is about 1% of the median income of McDowell County homeowner households, $34,255 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 77.3% of McDowell 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 McDowell County?

Yes. The median bill went from $221 in 2015-2019 to $337 in 2020-2024, a 52.5% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 42.9%, from $35,000 to $50,000. Bills rose faster than values, which usually means local rates went up or an exemption shrank.

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 McDowell County

McDowell County borders 5 counties, 2 of them across the state line.

McDowell County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
McDowell County, WV (this county)	0.67%	$337	$50,000
Tazewell County, VA	0.62%	$728	$118,300
Mercer County, WV	0.54%	$656	$121,700
Mingo County, WV	0.47%	$423	$90,500
Wyoming County, WV	0.45%	$369	$82,900
Buchanan County, VA	0.44%	$413	$94,900

How is a home assessed in McDowell County?

West Virginia assesses homes at 60% of market value in every county, McDowell County included. How West Virginia assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in McDowell County?

Not as a dollar amount. A West Virginia home you own and live in is Class II property, whose combined levy rate is capped at half the rate on ordinary Class III and Class IV property. That is the West Virginia rule, and it applies in McDowell County. West Virginia's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in McDowell County?

Tax is billed once a year and paid in two equal halves. The first half is payable September 1 and goes delinquent October 1; the second is payable the following March 1 and goes delinquent April 1. Pay on or before the date an installment is payable and you get a 2.5% discount, which applies to either half. Once a payment goes delinquent, interest runs at 9% a year. County sheriffs mail the bills, called tax tickets, in July.

West Virginia splits the bill into 2 installments. That is the West Virginia rule. McDowell County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your McDowell County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the the county commission sitting as the board of equalization and review, then the West Virginia Office of Tax Appeals. The filing deadline is typically while the county board is in session, which opens by February 1 and must adjourn by the end of February. That is the West Virginia rule; McDowell County sets the exact dates and forms. The West Virginia appeal process step by step.

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

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for McDowell County, West 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.