Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate products and services to help you make smart decisions with your money.
- US homeowners pay a median of $2,690 each year in property taxes, according to US Census Bureau data.
- Effective property tax rates by state range from 0.29% in Hawaii to 2.47% in New Jersey.
- New York has the highest average tax bill of $12,292. Alabama’s is the lowest at $882.
If you want to become a homeowner, you’ll want to make sure you can afford your area’s property taxes. Because property taxes vary so much from state to state and even county to county, a home that’s affordable for you in one part of the country could be a budget buster in a different zip code.
Tax rates in the US, from lowest to highest
When you get a mortgage to buy a home, your mortgage lender will include a portion of your yearly property taxes in your monthly mortgage payment.
For the US as a whole, the effective property tax rate is 1.10%, according to Insider calculations based on 2021 data from the US Census Bureau. The median home price in the US is $244,900, and homeowners pay a median of $2,690 each year in property taxes. This means that a homeowner would have around $224.17 added to each of their monthly mortgage payments in order to cover their property tax bill when it comes due.
We can also look at the average tax bill charged to homeowners by using the average home value in the US. According to Zillow, this is $346,270. With an effective property tax rate of 1.10%, the average tax bill in the US is $3,803. This would translate to a $316.92 payment added to your monthly mortgage.
If you live in a state where home values are within a normal range, looking at the average taxes paid may give you a more accurate picture of how much you might pay. But if you live in a state that has areas with unusually high or low home values, the median value may be more helpful.
Use our list to see what property taxes typically look like in your state. However, keep in mind that these are medians and averages, and property tax rates can vary quite a bit from one municipality to the next.
Here are the property tax rates for every US state, arranged from the lowest rates to the highest.
