Effective property tax rates vary dramatically across the United States. Based on the latest 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates, here are the ten highest and ten lowest property tax states.
The 10 Highest Property Tax States
- New Jersey — 2.23%
- Illinois — 2.07%
- Connecticut — 2.03%
- New Hampshire — 1.96%
- Vermont — 1.90%
- Texas — 1.72%
- Wisconsin — 1.68%
- Nebraska — 1.61%
- Iowa — 1.55%
- Ohio — 1.53%
Most of these states rely heavily on property tax to fund local schools and services, often because they have low or no state income tax (Texas, New Hampshire) or no sales tax.
The 10 Lowest Property Tax States
- Hawaii — 0.32%
- Alabama — 0.40%
- Colorado — 0.51%
- South Carolina — 0.55%
- Louisiana — 0.56%
- Nevada — 0.59%
- Utah — 0.62%
- Wyoming — 0.62%
- Montana — 0.70%
- Tennessee — 0.71%
These states compensate with higher sales tax, state income tax, or other revenue sources. Hawaii, for example, relies on a high general excise tax and tourism revenue.
What This Means for Homebuyers
On a $400,000 home, the difference between New Jersey (2.23%) and Hawaii (0.32%) is $7,640 per year — or over $229,000 over a 30-year mortgage. This is why property tax rate is one of the most important numbers to check before buying.
How We Calculate Effective Rates
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid ÷ median home value, from ACS variable B25103 divided by B25077. This is more accurate than millage rates because it reflects what homeowners actually pay, not just the nominal tax rate on paper.
Explore by State
Use our state pages to see county-by-county rates within each state. Some states have extremely wide internal variation — Texas ranges from 1.1% to over 2.5%.
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates (2020-2024). Public domain.