124 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
TaBLE 38.—Number and value of properties sold by assessment ratio and property 
classes, 1925—30; Macon County, N. C.} 
Forest and 
transitional 
Assessment ratio class 2 | 
Farm and pasture Other All classes 
Sales Value Sales Value Sales Value Sales Value 
| Number 1,000 dol. | Number | 1,000 dol. | Number | 1,000 dol. | Number | 1,000 dol. 
0 12. 3 
20-9002 SA Ne eae ee eee Rs re (ee) es ea 3 2 12.2 
SO=308 FUER UR ON 2 a 4 7.7 5 6.7 1 17.9 
= SE Rl 2 3.3 Oy a aS Be 3 10.4 5 13.7 
Dee Bie ae Ee? 4 3.4 3 3.3 3 21-2 10 27.9 
60-69. 2 eee seek ee | 1 2 12 14.1 1 2.5 14 16.8 
ORION 3) SPIT tee 2 1.2 6 9.0 5 13.8 13 24.0 
BER ae eed ee 2 a7 4 3.1 3 5.8 9 9.6 
c(i We es i ca ok Qi: ese 4 251 1 ii 5 2.8 
ONE 100 TREO NS Es 2 1.1 10 17ST 3 1.3 15 20.1 
Hip MGs Pee Sea 2 8 6 4.9 1 fA 9 6.4 
POP 1202 PE Wel or PBS Ia Ge eweates 1 .4 (iy ee 1 4 
ite (308 Oe RAE Ie eS 1 2 Of eet 2 1.5 3 1.7 
(NOS PEE OTe (is Hes Seen 3 1.9 1 a 4 2.2 
ATs ae See em ch 1 Et 3 .9 Q:| Seamer 4 1.0 
TCT RE ee SSA i eer ee 1 3 (Ds Pe aad 1 a3 
ISOs [S0du Ens Ieee ES (Oy Es SEE 1 3 i RN Sc 1 3 
OOS LOG hans ere VEE 1 2.5 (i ees BS aE iy ae EN 1 2.5 
MOG EEE Te LP 1 @) Ty BREE 1p Re See 1 (3) 
7ALCO TC Ce SAY ROE gE Se see eee 1 ne. (iy ae Sears 1 2 
Oa o20Vae Sa UE eS 1 1 iy Renee fl ea Dea 1 1 
7 haya at SRN ee Oia 1 si Oi | urea 1 1 
otal ist ese 22 “a 60 66. 0 31 77.1 113 160. 2 
1 Sources of data: Information from public records, parties to the transactions, and from deeds (refer to 
table 29). 
2 No sales in classes omitted. 
3 Value of $50 or less. 
It will be noted that the distributions in tables 30-38 indicate a 
tendency on the part of the ratios to spread out more widely toward 
the upper end of the range. This is a general characteristic of assess- 
ment-ratio distribution, when equal class intervals are used. While 
an assessment ratio can never be less than zero, it has no fixed upper 
limit. It is evident that the greatest absolute inequalities in assess- 
ment occur on the side of overassessment rather than underassessment. 
Inequality in assessment within a group of properties may be 
measured by the average deviation of their assessment ratios from 
the average assessment ratio of the group. A weighted average 
deviation is obtained by multiplying each individual deviation ex- 
pressed in percent by the estimated true value of the property, adding 
the products, and dividing the total by the total of the true values. 
In making this computation, algebraic signs are of course disregarded. 
However, average deviations are not directly comparable, since they 
are measured from different average assessment ratios. To get an 
absolute measure of variation, it is necessary to divide the average 
deviation for each group by the corresponding average assessment 
ratio. The result, expressed in percent, is known as the coefficient of 
dispersion. This coefficient measures relative variability. A low 
coefficient indicates a low degree of variability in assessment, while 
a high coefficient indicates a high degree of variability. 
The manner of calculating the coefficient of dispersion is illustrated 
in table 39 by a simplified example involving a group of five assessment 
ratios. 
| 
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