Property Tax in Hampton city, Virginia

What the Hampton city numbers mean

The median is the midpoint of the county's actual bills: half of Hampton city homeowners pay more than $2,259 a year and half pay less. The exact bill for any one home depends on its assessed value, exemptions, and which school, municipal and special districts cover it.

Set against the median home value of $234,100, the median bill works out to a derived effective rate of 0.96%. That rate is an estimate computed from the two medians — no county publishes a rate calculated this way — but it adjusts for home prices, which makes comparisons between counties more meaningful.

Hampton city by the numbers

*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.

Hampton city at a glance

• Median tax rank in Virginia: #39 of 133 counties
• Median home value rank in Virginia: #73 of 133
• Population rank in Virginia: #15 of 133 (137,334 residents)
• Population density rank: #17 of 133 (2,669 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in Virginia: #101 of 133 (51 sq mi, 0.1% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $188; per $1,000 of home value: $0.96

How Hampton city compares

Of the 133 Virginia counties with published data, 38 have a higher median property tax bill than Hampton city's $2,259, putting the county at #39 in the state. Its bill is about 16% lower than the state median of $2,686 and about 24% lower than the national median of $2,969.

Rates and values pull in opposite directions: an expensive housing market can produce big bills at ordinary rates. Here the derived rate is 0.96%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #73 within Virginia.

Some extra context for Hampton city: the median bill works out to about $188 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $965 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 137,334 people — the #15 most populous county in Virginia, spread over 51 square miles, a density of about 2,669 people per square mile. Its median home value, $234,100, ranks #73 among the state's 133 counties with data.

Nationally, Hampton city's median bill of $2,259 ranks #870 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 28% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 1.6% of Virginia's population, its median home value is about 35% below the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 9.65% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Hampton city to the most expensive county, Falls Church city ($10,001), is $7,742 a year.

Counties nearest Hampton city in the Virginia ranking

Hampton city and its population peers

Population is a useful lens on these figures, so the table below sets Hampton city beside the counties closest to it in population anywhere in the country — communities of a similar scale operating under different state and local tax systems. Ranked by median tax paid within this peer group of 9, Hampton city's $2,259 bill is #4 of 9.

The closest population match is Washington County, Wisconsin (137,320 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $3,795 on a median home value of $316,200 — $1,536 less than Hampton city pays.

Hampton city's nearest population neighbours within Virginia are Alexandria city (156,788 residents, median tax $6,879 on a median value of $696,800); Spotsylvania County (143,876 residents, median tax $2,263 on a median value of $375,000); Albemarle County (113,683 residents, median tax $3,482 on a median value of $471,000); Hanover County (111,652 residents, median tax $2,506 on a median value of $372,700). Comparing them is a reminder that even inside one state's rules, the bill follows local home values and local district rates more than anything decided at the state level.

How the tax is worked out

As an illustration of the arithmetic: at Hampton city's derived rate of 0.96%, a home valued at $400,000 would carry a tax bill of roughly $3,860 a year. That is only an illustration using the derived rate — a real bill is computed from the property's assessed value, its exemptions, and the combined rates of its specific taxing districts, so it can be higher or lower.

The usual sequence is: the local assessor values the property; exemptions are applied; the taxable value is multiplied by the combined local rates; and the county bills and collects the tax, distributing it to the schools, municipalities and districts that levied it.

Illustrative bills in Hampton city at the derived rate

The derived rate of 0.96% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Hampton city — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.74% and the US figure of 0.98%:

Illustration only: real bills are computed from the assessed value, exemptions, and the combined rates of the property's actual taxing districts.

Checking your assessment in Hampton city

Believe your assessment is too high? The practical order of attack is: obtain your record card and audit it line by line; collect comparable recent sales in Hampton city; ask the assessor's office to correct anything plainly wrong; and, if the value still seems off, lodge a formal appeal ahead of the deadline printed on your assessment notice. Windows are short — often 30 to 90 days — and late appeals are usually rejected outright, however strong the case.

More Virginia counties

• Spotsylvania County, VA — $2,263
• Alexandria city, VA — $6,879
• Stafford County, VA — $3,301
• Albemarle County, VA — $3,482
• Hanover County, VA — $2,506
• Montgomery County, VA — $2,174

Frequently asked questions