1. How much did the average Davidson County property tax bill increase and how does that compare to the rest of the state?
A: We talked last week about the value of $100 in the Nashville area, how $100 is worth $103.50, well property taxes are a big factor in determining cost of living.
Average property taxes were $2,230 in Davidson County — that’s a $265 increase from the year before, according to data from the Tax Foundation. Yours can be much higher or much lower, depending on the value of your property.
Davidson County continues to have the third highest average property taxes in the state, following Williamson and Shelby counties, $2,770 and $2,312, respectively.
Property owners in the other 92 counties in the state pay between $500 and $1,800, on average.
2. How does this compare to the rest of the country?
A: Tennessee’s tax rate —assessed as a percentage of home values — is the ninth lowest in the country.
But if property values are high, then even low rates will result in property owners paying high taxes.
When it comes to dollars paid, property owners in Davidson County, are paying on average $2,230, which is $400 higher than the average for the rest of the country’s $1,815. So, low rate, but higher actual payments.
On the flip side, you have much of New Jersey and NYC and its suburbs paying upwards of $10,000 a year in property taxes.
3. Property tax revenue is used to fund what services in Davidson County?
A: You’re kind enough to have me on every week, where we talk about how government is spending your money, so it’s a good refresher what the average property owner pays their local government in property taxes alone.
That pays for its services like fire and police, libraries, parks, transportation, public works, the school district of course, and much more. And we’re going to keep holding them accountable on how they spend your money.