US States With the Highest (and Lowest) Property Tax Rates
The monthly mortgage payment is not the only expense to consider if you own a home . Your budget should also include at least insurance, utilities, maintenance, and property taxes, which can add up to a hefty sum and make home ownership a little less affordable.
HomeAdvisor, a home services website, analyzed data from the US Census Bureau to determine each state’s property tax rate, as well as the average property tax payment and the percentage of household income that goes to property taxes. Here are the US states where homeowners pay the highest and lowest property tax rates.
10 states with the highest property tax rates
These are the states with the highest property tax rates, some of which also top the list of highest annual tax payments. New Jersey residents pay significantly more ($8,488 per year) than residents of any other state.
- New Jersey: 2.47%
- Illinois: 2.24%
- Connecticut: 2.13%
- New Hampshire: 2.13%
- Vermont: 1.90%
- Wisconsin: 1.78%
- Texas: 1.75%
- New York: 1.72%
- Nebraska: 1.68%
- Rhode Island: 1.57%
10 states with the lowest property tax rates
- Hawaii: 0.28%
- Alabama: 0.41%
- Colorado: 0.51%
- Louisiana: 0.55%
- District of Columbia: 0.56%
- South Carolina: 0.57%
- Delaware: 0.57%
- Nevada: 0.57%
- West Virginia: 0.58%
- Utah: 0.60%
How much do you need for the property tax budget?
It’s probably not surprising that the states with the highest property tax rates are basically the same as the states where homeowners spend the majority of their budget paying their property tax bills. In New Jersey, this is 9.96% ($8,488) of household income. New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont are also in the top five.
On the other hand, Alabama households contribute the lowest percentage of income (1.17%, or $608) to property taxes. Residents of West Virginia, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Louisiana are also on this list.
Where is the largest property tax increase expected?
HomeAdvisor also used data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to determine where property taxes are expected to rise the most over the next five years. Idaho tops the list with a projected increase of somewhere between 120.0% and 139.9%. Utah residents could also see a huge jump, somewhere in the 100.0-119.9% range. (Note that property taxes in Idaho and Utah are currently relatively low.)
Arizona, Florida, Montana, Nevada, Tennessee, and Washington are projected to experience significant increases in the 80.0-99.9% range. If you live in or plan to move to Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, North Dakota, or West Virginia, you can expect the lowest property tax increase in the next five years (20.0%-39.9%).