The 13 North Carolina counties that meet my living criteria and with property tax rates at or below 0.6% are highlighted in green in the cover image and the images below.
I’ll look for property to purchase and build a homestead in the North Carolina counties.
Let’s face it, many areas in North Carolina would be great places to start a homestead. But how do you look for land over such a large area without considerable effort?
To narrow the search area, I picked a low property tax rate (0.6%) at the county level and highlighted those counties in the four states that met my other criteria.
North Carolina Counties
with the Lowest County Property Tax Rates
If you compare the table below to the cover image, you’ll notice that three counties are missing in the table compared to the image.
This is because, during my research for this post, I discovered that the three counties, Mitchell, Yancey, and Graham, are mostly “dry” counties.
Not to sound like an alcoholic, but if I want to buy beer or booze, I don’t want to drive out of the county to do so. For that reason, I removed those counties from the search.
Below is a table that lists the North Carolina counties with property tax rates below 0.6%. I’ve also included (for my purposes) the county seat and links that give a broad overview of the county and a link to the county government home page.
| County | Property Tax Rate (%) | County Seat | Wiki Link | County Web Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avery | 0.407 | Newland | Link | Link |
| Watauga | 0.424 | Boone | Link | Link |
| Alleghany | 0.511 | Sparta | Link | Link |
| Ashe | 0.553 | Jefferson | Link | Link |
| Macon | 0.446 | Franklin | Link | Link |
| Jackson | 0.450 | Sylva | Link | Link |
| Swain | 0.457 | Bryson City | Link | Link |
| Clay | 0.481 | Hayesville | Link | Link |
| Transylvania | 0.519 | Brevard | Link | Link |
| Cherokee | 0.572 | Murphy | Link | Link |
I listed the county seat and links to county information because I can access those data if I need them while I’m on the road looking for land.
Remember, this website has multiple purposes. It is an educational site and contains research data I may need and documents my journey to finding a homestead.
Because I know many of you don’t care about some of this information, a topic index page lists all published blog topics.
On the Index Page, scroll down until you see the topic you’d like to view, then click on a sub-topic. A listing of all the published posts on that topic will be available. Click on the thumbnail to visit the posts you’re interested in reading.
Where Are These 13 10 Counties?
Below is a map of the 13 North Carolina counties. The three “dry” counties have a line drawn across their names.
This is where I’ll begin to concentrate my property search in North Carolina.
As you can see, the counties are in the western mountain range in the northwestern and southwestern corners of the state.
Now, if a nice property becomes available in a different county, I most likely won’t pass it up for a difference in property tax of 0.2%. But the search needed to be narrowed down, so why not start with the counties with the lowest tax rates?
If I don’t like the land in a particular county, once I get my eyes on it, it will be removed from the search. The opposite is true also; if I fall in love with the place, the search will be concentrated on that county.
For reference, below is a map of all the North Carolina counties.
Stay Tuned
If you’ve read this far, I’m glad you’re interested. Some of this information might be useful to other people looking for land in North Carolina. This is the reason I went to the trouble to write the post.
Again, when I’m on the road, I can bring this post up to see how close I’m to counties that interest me, and I’ll have access to other information via the posted links (assuming cellular or internet access).
Besides North Carolina, I’ll write similar posts in the following states:
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
Once a post is written, I’ll link it above.
What Is Your Experience?
I’d love to hear about your experience looking for property out of state. How did you find and purchase your land?
If you live in any of these counties or have knowledge of the area, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me here.
I’d love to hear about your experience and views. Tell me I’m crazy if you want. Anything will help, even if it’s setting me straight!
Do you have friends in North Carolina that are looking to purchase land? Share it using the social media icons below and pin the following image on your Pinterest board.
