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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Property taxes are proving to be a real headache for American homeowners, who are facing much higher bills after the homebuying frenzy triggered by the pandemic sent home values through the roof across the country in the past five years.
The median tax bill in the U.S. was $3,500 last year, up 2.8 percent from 2023, according to Realtor.com data. But some states remain much cheaper than others, with bills below the national average.
“Tax growth varies widely state to state, including some states where tax burdens are outpacing home price growth and others where property taxes are falling even as homes appreciate in value,” Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner said in the report.
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Where Are The Lowest Property Taxes In The Country?
West Virginia had the lowest property taxes in the country, with a median tax amount owed by homeowners in the state of only $728. Here, the median list price of a home is also much lower than the national average of $429,990, at $261,500.
Alabama followed with a median tax amount of $804, for a median home list price of $329,950. Arkansas had the third-lowest property taxes in the nation, at $871. Here, the median list price of a home is $304,950. These are the only three states where property taxes are below $1,000.
Among the other states with the lowest property taxes are Mississippi ($1,034), South Carolina ($1,328), Tennessee ($1,333), Louisiana ($1,415), Oklahoma ($1,481), Kentucky ($1,551), and Michigan ($1,670).
“Many Southern states have lower median home values compared to high-cost states. Because property tax burdens are a function of value X rate, a lower base value means even a moderate rate produces a lower absolute tax bill,” Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said in the report.
And The Highest?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the states with the highest property taxes are concentrated in the Northeast—home to some of the most expensive housing markets in the country. Property taxes, in fact, generally correspond to the market value of a property.
The highest property taxes in the region were reported in New Jersey, at a median of $9,413. It was followed by New Hampshire ($7,715), Connecticut ($6,944), Massachusetts ($6,417), New York ($6,096), Washington ($6,338), Texas ($5,860), and California ($5,248).
The States Trying To Do Away With Property Taxes
As the ongoing housing affordability crisis continues weighing on millions of Americans, several Republican-led states are looking into slashing property taxes—if not eliminating them altogether.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed his support for abolishing the state’s property tax several times this year, and lawmakers are said to be considering how that could work—among other options to offer immediate relief to struggling homeowners.
Ohio is another state entertaining the idea of eliminating property taxes, with a grassroots movement pushing to put the measure to voters next year. Experts, however, are skeptical whether abolishing property taxes would be feasible without delivering more pain to taxpayers in other forms or leaving public services significantly underfunded.
While states like Florida have done away with income taxes, no state in the country has yet eliminated property taxes.
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