Property Tax in Raleigh County, West Virginia

What the Raleigh County numbers mean

The median is the midpoint of the county's actual bills: half of Raleigh County homeowners pay more than $733 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 $142,600, the median bill works out to a derived effective rate of 0.51%. 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.

Raleigh County by the numbers

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

Raleigh County at a glance

• Median tax rank in West Virginia: #20 of 55 counties
• Median home value rank in West Virginia: #23 of 55
• Population rank in West Virginia: #6 of 55 (73,666 residents)
• Population density rank: #14 of 55 (122 people per square mile)
• Land area rank in West Virginia: #10 of 55 (604 sq mi, 2.5% of the combined county land area)
• Median tax as a monthly figure: $61; per $1,000 of home value: $0.51

How Raleigh County compares

Of the 55 West Virginia counties with published data, 19 have a higher median property tax bill than Raleigh County's $733, putting the county at #20 in the state. Its bill is about 12% lower than the state median of $835 and about 75% 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 0.51%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #23 within West Virginia.

Some extra context for Raleigh County: the median bill works out to about $61 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $514 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 73,666 people — the #6 most populous county in West Virginia, spread over 604 square miles, a density of about 122 people per square mile. Its median home value, $142,600, ranks #23 among the state's 55 counties with data.

Zooming out: of 3133 counties nationwide with published Census figures, only 2738 record a higher median tax bill than Raleigh County — it sits in the top 87% nationally. The county holds roughly 4.1% of West Virginia's people. Its homes are worth less than the state norm (median $142,600 versus $155,600), and a decade at the derived rate of 0.51% adds up to about 5.14% of the median home's value in tax. The cheapest county in the state, McDowell County, medians $278 — $455 less than Raleigh County per year.

Counties nearest Raleigh County in the West Virginia ranking

Raleigh County and its population peers

Counties of a similar size can tax very differently. The table below shows the counties closest to Raleigh County in population across the United States, with their median bills and home values. Within the group of 9, Raleigh County ($733) ranks the lowest by median tax paid.

The closest population match is Kauai County, Hawaii (73,610 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $1,840 on a median home value of $817,900 — $1,107 less than Raleigh County pays.

Raleigh County's nearest population neighbours within West Virginia are Cabell County (93,300 residents, median tax $989 on a median value of $156,100); Wood County (83,829 residents, median tax $943 on a median value of $153,700); Harrison County (65,407 residents, median tax $872 on a median value of $158,500); Mercer County (59,062 residents, median tax $589 on a median value of $118,600). 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

The bill is built in stages. First the assessor puts a market value on the property. Exemptions — a homestead exemption above all — then reduce the taxable amount. Finally the combined local rate is applied. To see the scale: at the county's derived rate of 0.51%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $514 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $2,056. Real bills use the official assessment and district rates, not this derived figure, so treat the example as a sense of scale only.

Illustrative bills in Raleigh County at the derived rate

The derived rate of 0.51% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Raleigh County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.54% 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 Raleigh County

If your bill looks wrong, work through these steps:

1. Get your property record card from the assessor and check the basics — living area, lot size, bedrooms, condition, and any exemptions you should have.
2. Compare your assessed value with recent sale prices of similar homes in Raleigh County.
3. Talk to the assessor's office informally first; clear errors are often fixed without a hearing.
4. If needed, file a formal appeal with the local review board before the deadline on your assessment notice, with your evidence attached.
5. Keep paying the bill as issued while the appeal runs, unless your notice says otherwise — unpaid taxes accrue penalties regardless of an appeal.

More West Virginia counties

• Harrison County, WV — $872
• Wood County, WV — $943
• Mercer County, WV — $589
• Jefferson County, WV — $1,796
• Putnam County, WV — $1,235
• Marion County, WV — $989

Frequently asked questions