This document reviews local tax rates in Orange County, North Carolina. It provides data on property tax rates for Orange County and various municipalities like Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Additional charts show total property tax rates and median property taxes paid for various North Carolina cities. Orange County residents pay on average $5,887 in annual property taxes, the highest in the state. The Central Business District of Chapel Hill generates significantly more tax revenue per parcel than other areas despite occupying less than 1% of the town's total area.
2. Orange County Tax Rates
Code Jurisdiction Rate Cents on $100
GO/MO ORANGE COUNTY 0.008780 $0.88
G1/M1 CARRBORO 0.005894 $0.59
G2/M2 CHAPEL HILL 0.005240 $0.52
G3/M3 HILLSBOROUGH 0.006800 $0.68
/M6 MEBANE 0.004900 $0.49
/M7 DURHAM 0.005912 $0.59
CH CHAPEL HILL/CARRBORO SCHOOL DST 0.002084 $0.21
DR C.H. DOWNTOWN SERVICE DISTRICT 0.000710 $0.07
Source: Orange County Tax Administration
3. City and Town Tax Rate
0.33
0.3826
0.494
0.5675
0.675
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Huntersville
Cary
Raleigh
Apex
Asheville
Charlotte
Wilmington
Fayetteville
Concord
Winston-Salem
Chapel Hill
Hickory
Wilson
Greenville
Gastonia
Jacksonville
Monroe
Kannapolis
Durham
Burlington
Rocky Mount
Greensboro
Salisbury
Goldsboro
High Point
NC Department of Revenue
4. Total of All Jurisdictions Property Tax Rate
0.864
0.9166
1.3119
1.4554
1.5404
0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
Cary
Raleigh
Apex
Wilmington
Hickory
Huntersville
Asheville
Burlington
Jacksonville
Winston-Salem
Concord
Fayetteville
Greenville
Monroe
Charlotte
Wilson
Rocky Mount
Salisbury
Kannapolis
Durham
Goldsboro
Gastonia
Greensboro
High Point
Chapel Hill
NC Department of Revenue
5. Property Taxes on Median House Prices
$1,100.00
$1,604.05
$1,819.25
$2,164.64
$2,224.80 $4,898.47
$0.00 $500.00 $1,000.00 $1,500.00 $2,000.00 $2,500.00 $3,000.00 $3,500.00 $4,000.00 $4,500.00 $5,000.00
Burlington
Kannapolis
Salisbury
Rocky Mount
Hickory
Winston-Salem
Fayetteville
Monroe
Goldsboro
Wilson
Greenville
Gastonia
Jacksonville
Raleigh
Wilmington
Greensboro
High Point
Charlotte
Asheville
Concord
Durham
Apex
Cary
Huntersville
Chapel Hill
NC Department of Revenue and RealEstate.com
7. 2014 Property Taxes By County
County Average 2014 Property Taxes Effective Tax Rate
Orange $5,887.52 1.30%
Mecklenburg $3,014.93 1.08%
Durham $2,611.35 1.18%
Wake $2,431.61 0.85%
New Hanover $2,003.78 0.67%
Guilford $1,992.76 1.07%
Forsyth $1,754.48 1.02%
Cumberland $1,723.82 1.20%
Johnston $1,602.77 0.91%
Lee $993.41 0.68%
Source: RealtyTrac
“Effective tax rate:” the average property tax owed on a single family home in 2014 divided by
the average estimated value of a single family home as of the end of 2014
10. Impact of CBD
on Property Tax Revenue
• A parcel of land in the Central Business district
generates 5.58 times more annual property
tax revenue than an average parcel of
equivalent size in Chapel Hill.
• The Central Business District
occupies only .77% of the area
of Chapel Hill, but represents
4.3% of its total property tax base.
11. Find More Resources
• Find Municipal Revenue Impact
Analysis at downtownchapelhill.com/studies.
• Find the Chamber’s State of the Community
Report at slideshare.net/carolinachamber.