Originally posted by John S Kiernan, Managing Editor, Mar 2, 2022
Depending on where you live, property taxes can be a small inconvenience or a major burden. The average American household spends $2,471 on property taxes for their homes each year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and residents of the 27 states with vehicle property taxes shell out another $445. Considering these figures and the massive amount of debt in America, it should come as no surprise that more than $14 billion in property taxes go unpaid each year, according to the National Tax Lien Association.
And though property taxes might appear to be a non-issue for the 36% of renter households, that couldn’t be further from the truth. We all pay property taxes, whether directly or indirectly, as they impact the rent we pay as well as the finances of state and local governments.
But which states have the largest property tax load, and what should residents keep in mind when it comes to meeting and minimizing their tax obligations? In search of answers, we analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of real-estate and vehicle property taxes. We also asked a panel of property-tax experts for practical and political insight.
Real-Estate Tax Ranking
Real-Estate Property Tax Rates by State
|
Rank |
State |
Effective Real-Estate Tax Rate |
Annual Taxes on $217.5K Home* |
State Median Home Value |
Annual Taxes on Home Priced at State Median Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | 0.28% | $606 | $615,300 | $1,715 |
| 2 | Alabama | 0.41% | $895 | $142,700 | $587 |
| 3 | Colorado | 0.51% | $1,113 | $343,300 | $1,756 |
| 4 | Louisiana | 0.55% | $1,187 | $163,100 | $890 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | 0.56% | $1,221 | $601,500 | $3,378 |
| 6 | South Carolina | 0.57% | $1,238 | $162,300 | $924 |
| 6 | Delaware | 0.57% | $1,240 | $251,100 | $1,431 |
| 8 | West Virginia | 0.58% | $1,269 | $119,600 | $698 |
| 9 | Nevada | 0.60% | $1,310 | $267,900 | $1,614 |
| 10 | Wyoming | 0.61% | $1,319 | $220,500 | $1,337 |
| 11 | Arkansas | 0.62% | $1,358 | $127,800 | $798 |
| 12 | Utah | 0.63% | $1,362 | $279,100 | $1,748 |
| 13 | Arizona | 0.66% | $1,446 | $225,500 | $1,499 |
| 14 | Idaho | 0.69% | $1,492 | $212,300 | $1,456 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 0.71% | $1,548 | $167,200 | $1,190 |
| 16 | California | 0.76% | $1,644 | $505,000 | $3,818 |
| 17 | New Mexico | 0.80% | $1,740 | $171,400 | $1,371 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 0.81% | $1,751 | $119,000 | $958 |
| 19 | Virginia | 0.82% | $1,779 | $273,100 | $2,234 |
| 20 | Montana | 0.84% | $1,818 | $230,600 | $1,928 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 0.84% | $1,833 | $172,500 | $1,454 |
| 22 | Indiana | 0.85% | $1,853 | $141,700 | $1,207 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 0.86% | $1,866 | $141,000 | $1,210 |
| 24 | Florida | 0.89% | $1,934 | $215,300 | $1,914 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | 0.90% | $1,952 | $136,800 | $1,228 |
| 26 | Georgia | 0.92% | $2,006 | $176,000 | $1,623 |
| 27 | Missouri | 0.97% | $2,111 | $157,200 | $1,526 |
| 27 | Oregon | 0.97% | $2,116 | $312,200 | $3,037 |
| 29 | North Dakota | 0.98% | $2,138 | $193,900 | $1,906 |
| 29 | Washington | 0.98% | $2,134 | $339,000 | $3,326 |
| 31 | Maryland | 1.09% | $2,370 | $314,800 | $3,430 |
| 32 | Minnesota | 1.12% | $2,429 | $223,900 | $2,500 |
| 33 | Alaska | 1.19% | $2,599 | $270,400 | $3,231 |
| 34 | Massachusetts | 1.23% | $2,667 | $381,600 | $4,679 |
| 35 | South Dakota | 1.31% | $2,857 | $167,100 | $2,195 |
| 36 | Maine | 1.36% | $2,953 | $190,400 | $2,585 |
| 37 | Kansas | 1.41% | $3,060 | $151,900 | $2,137 |
| 38 | Michigan | 1.54% | $3,343 | $154,900 | $2,381 |
| 39 | Ohio | 1.56% | $3,390 | $145,700 | $2,271 |
| 40 | Iowa | 1.57% | $3,407 | $147,800 | $2,315 |
| 41 | Pennsylvania | 1.58% | $3,442 | $180,200 | $2,852 |
| 42 | Rhode Island | 1.63% | $3,548 | $261,900 | $4,272 |
| 43 | New York | 1.72% | $3,749 | $313,700 | $5,407 |
| 44 | Nebraska | 1.73% | $3,754 | $155,800 | $2,689 |
| 45 | Texas | 1.80% | $3,907 | $172,500 | $3,099 |
| 46 | Wisconsin | 1.85% | $4,027 | $180,600 | $3,344 |
| 47 | Vermont | 1.90% | $4,135 | $227,700 | $4,329 |
| 48 | Connecticut | 2.14% | $4,658 | $275,400 | $5,898 |
| 49 | New Hampshire | 2.18% | $4,738 | $261,700 | $5,701 |
| 50 | Illinois | 2.27% | $4,942 | $194,500 | $4,419 |
| 51 | New Jersey | 2.49% | $5,419 | $335,600 | $8,362 |
Vehicle Property Tax Ranking
Vehicle Property Tax Rates by State
|
Rank |
State |
Effective Vehicle Tax Rate |
Annual Taxes on $25K Car* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | District of Columbia | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Delaware | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Utah | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Idaho | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Tennessee | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | New Mexico | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Florida | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Georgia | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Oregon | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | North Dakota | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Washington | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Maryland | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Alaska | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | South Dakota | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Ohio | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Pennsylvania | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | New York | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Texas | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Vermont | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | Illinois | 0.00% | $0 |
| 1 | New Jersey | 0.00% | $0 |
| 25 | Louisiana | 0.10% | $25 |
| 26 | Michigan | 0.61% | $154 |
| 27 | California | 0.65% | $164 |
| 28 | Alabama | 0.69% | $174 |
| 29 | Iowa | 1.00% | $253 |
| 30 | Arkansas | 1.02% | $257 |
| 31 | North Carolina | 1.20% | $304 |
| 32 | Montana | 1.23% | $312 |
| 33 | Minnesota | 1.29% | $326 |
| 34 | Indiana | 1.38% | $350 |
| 35 | Kentucky | 1.45% | $366 |
| 36 | Nebraska | 1.57% | $398 |
| 37 | West Virginia | 1.67% | $423 |
| 38 | Arizona | 1.68% | $425 |
| 39 | Colorado | 1.79% | $452 |
| 39 | Nevada | 1.79% | $453 |
| 41 | Wyoming | 1.80% | $455 |
| 41 | New Hampshire | 1.80% | $455 |
| 43 | Kansas | 1.93% | $489 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | 2.25% | $569 |
| 45 | Maine | 2.40% | $607 |
| 46 | South Carolina | 2.50% | $631 |
| 47 | Connecticut | 2.59% | $656 |
| 48 | Missouri | 2.60% | $659 |
| 49 | Rhode Island | 3.01% | $762 |
| 50 | Mississippi | 3.46% | $875 |
| 51 | Virginia | 4.04% | $1,023 |
*$25,295 is the value of a Toyota Camry LE four-door Sedan (as of February 2022), the highest-selling car of 2021.
Methodology
In order to determine the states with the highest and lowest property taxes, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia by using U.S. Census Bureau data to determine real-estate property tax rates and applying assumptions based on national auto-sales data to determine vehicle property tax rates.
For real-estate property tax rates, we divided the “median real-estate tax payment” by the “median home price” in each state. We then used the resulting rates to obtain the dollar amount paid as real-estate tax on a house worth $217,500, the median value for a home in the U.S. as of 2019 according to the Census Bureau.
For vehicle property tax rates, we examined data for cities and counties making up at least 50 percent of a given state’s population and extrapolated this to the state level using weighted averages based on population size. For each state, we assumed all residents own the same vehicle: a Toyota Camry LE four-door sedan — 2021’s highest-selling car — valued at $25,295, as of February 2022.
Please note that Georgia formerly imposed vehicle property tax but replaced it in 2013 with a one-time tax imposed on a vehicle’s fair market value (FMV).
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau and each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
