The amount of money homeowners pay in property taxes can come down to which side of the city, district or county line they live on. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the typical American pays 1.02% of their home’s value in property taxes a year.
Property taxes nationwide have increased since before the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2023, the median value of annual property taxes increased nearly 25%, according to an analysis from CoreLogic, a property industry analytics firm.
Property taxes fund public schools and pay for other other programs like infrastructure repairs and policing. A portion of your monthly mortgage payment goes to property taxes, so if you’re on a tight budget, higher property taxes can make saving money more difficult.
Property taxes vary by state
Property taxes are hyperlocal – a similar house in your neighborhood could have a higher or lower tax burden just because of its location. Some states levy a property tax, but for the most part, these taxes are imposed on the county, city or district levels.
New Jersey had the largest median property tax bill for singe-family homes in 2023. Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts rounded out the top five states with the most expensive median property tax bill. Homeowners in West Virginia paid the smallest amount in property taxes on average, about $694 per year.
The variance in property taxes by state reflect differences in home values and individual state property tax rates.
See how much homeowners pay for property taxes in your state:
Yanling Mayer, principal economist at CoreLogic wrote last month that “states calculate property taxes differently by municipalities, as home prices and rates can vary greatly locally.
“In West Virginia, for example, average annual property taxes range from about $210 in McDowell and Webster counties to about $1,856 in Jefferson County,” Mayer wrote. “In New Jersey, average property taxes in 2023 were between $4,590 in Cumberland County to about $11,350 in Essex and Bergen counties.”
These counties have the highest property taxes
A separate analysis from CoreLogic found that the average homeowner in Westchester County, New York paid the most in property taxes last year, with a median value of $15,373.
In 2023, 13 of the 15 top counties with the most expensive property tax bills were in the greater New York City area, including surrounding cities and suburbs.
See how much homes are valued in your county
For the roughly two-thirds of Americans who own homes, location is a major determinate of their home’s value. Home ownership is a major financial asset to many households and knowing the worth of a home can help families decide to buy or sell.
See the median value of homes in each U.S. county:
Contributing: Janna Herron
