BAKERSVILLE — A recent study from New York-based financial technology company SmartAsset named Mitchell as the top county in North Carolina for residents to receive the most value for what they spend in property taxes.
The study first measured the effective property tax in each county to determine the relative property tax burden. Mitchell’s 0.59 percent property tax rate is higher than McDowell (0.57 percent), Avery (0.45 percent) and Watauga (0.43 percent) but is on par with neighboring Yancey (0.59 percent).
The study also analyzed the quality of public schools within the county by analyzing math, reading and language arts proficiencies for every school district in the county. An average score was created for each district by looking at the scores for every school in the district and weighing it to account for the number of students in each school.
Each county in the state received a cumulative school score ranging from one to 10 with 10 being the best. Mitchell’s school rating was a seven which puts it ahead of McDowell (five) and a little behind Yancey (nine).
Next, the study calculated the change in property tax value in each county over a five-year period. Places where property values rose by the greatest amount indicated where consumers were more motivated to purchase homes, marking a positive return on investment for homeowners in the community.
The current median home value in Mitchell is $140,600 and the median annual property tax payment is $837.
According to the study, home values in Mitchell have shown a state-high growth of 27.96 percent, making its overall state-leading value index an 81.30.
Finally, the study calculated an overall value index based on all of the study criteria. Counties with higher scores were those in which property tax dollars go the furthest.
McDowell saw 12.55 percent home value growth and had an overall value index of 77.62, which was good for second in the state while home values in Avery grew 6.96 percent, making the county’s value index a 76.51 and clocking the county in at third place.
Yancey County registered a 10.88 percent home value growth and an overall value index of 72.94, putting it in sixth place in the state.
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CORRECTION: A previous version of this article identified Yancey's school rating at seven. It has been changed to the correct rating of nine.