The 10 Worst States for Property Taxes
Residents of the Garden State are paying a whole lot for their gardens, according to a new analysis of property tax rates by the Tax Foundation.
Property taxes in the U.S. are a complicated patchwork of different policies set by states, cities and counties as well as local school boards, fire departments and utility commissions. Those differences — and the added complexity of valuing property — can make it difficult to arrive at apples-to-apples comparisons of property tax rates.
To cut through all those variables and map out where property tax rates are highest, the Tax Foundation looked at effective tax rates on owner-occupied housing. “This is the average amount of residential property tax actually paid, expressed as a percentage of home value,” the foundation’s Jared Walczak wrote in a blog post Thursday. The calculations exclude property taxes paid by businesses, renters and others. You can see how your state stacks up on the map below.
Related: The 10 Worst States for Taxes in 2015
Keep in mind also that property taxes are just one part of your total tax bill. “Some states with high property taxes, like New Hampshire and Texas, rely heavily on property taxes in lieu of other major tax categories; others, like New Jersey and Illinois, impose high property taxes alongside high rates in the other major tax categories,” Walczak explains.
More reason for New Jersey residents to grumble.
Here are the 10 states with the highest effective property tax rates for homeowners:
State | Tax Rate |
New Jersey | 2.38% |
Illinois | 2.32% |
New Hampshire | 2.15% |
Connecticut | 1.98% |
Wisconsin | 1.96% |
Texas | 1.90% |
Nebraska | 1.84% |
Michigan | 1.78% |
Vermont | 1.71% |
Rhode Island | 1.67% |
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