April 22, 2026, 5:03 a.m. CT
- On average, homeowners in Tennessee are taxed at the 10th-lowest rate in the country, according to the nonprofit Tax Foundation.
- The nonprofit’s data is based on the most recent national property tax data from 2024, and a vast majority of U.S. states have a higher effective tax rate on owner-occupied housing than Tennessee.
On average, homeowners in Tennessee are taxed at the 10th-lowest rate in the country, according to the nonprofit Tax Foundation.
It may not feel that way for Nashvillians, though.
Many might be wrestling with a sense of heartburn that has persisted for about a year now, starting with a record increase in property values in April 2025 and the new fiscal year 2026 property tax rate approved by the Metro Nashville Council that followed a few months later.
Even though it ended up being one of Nashville’s lowest tax rates in the past 50 years, because it exceeds the revenue-neutral certified tax rate set by the state each year, it still effectively resulted in a 26% property tax hike.
In the year or so since then, commercial property owners have drawn further attention to what’s become a complicated landscape, raising flags about how higher tax bills threaten the existence of their businesses.
But according to the Tax Foundation, it could be worse.
According to the foundation’s latest research on property taxes by state and county, a vast majority of U.S. states have a higher effective tax rate on owner-occupied housing – the average amount of residential property taxes actually paid, expressed as a percentage of home value.
Tennessee ranks at No. 10 in the lowest property tax rates in the country
Using that comparison, the average effective tax rate in Tennessee clocks in at 0.52%.
The figure’s a little higher when just considering Davidson County, which the Tax Foundation’s research notes had an effective tax rate of 0.57% based on the most recent data from 2024. The data shows Nashvillians paid a median of $2,506 in property taxes that year.
If you do the math for a Nashville home with a value of $500,000, for example, that comes out to a tax bill of $2,850.
That places Tennessee squarely at 10th on the list of lowest effective tax rates in the country. Here’s the full top 10:
- Hawaii: 0.29%.
- Alabama: 0.37%.
- Arizona: 0.48%.
- Utah: 0.48%.
- South Carolina: 0.49%.
- Nevada: 0.50%.
- Colorado: 0.50%.
- Idaho: 0.50%.
- West Virginia: 0.51%.
- Tennessee: 0.52%.
On the other end of the spectrum, some of the worst average rates by state are more than three times higher than Tennessee’s.
Here’s how the bottom 10 states compare:
- Illinois: 1.88%.
- New Jersey: 1.88%.
- Connecticut: 1.54%.
- Vermont: 1.51%.
- New Hampshire: 1.50%.
- Nebraska: 1.44%.
- Texas: 1.40%.
- Ohio: 1.36%.
- Iowa: 1.33%.
- Wisconsin: 1.32%.
It’s not a perfect comparison, given that the most recent data available is from 2024. For many Nashvillians, final property tax bills for 2025 may not even be set in stone yet, given that Davidson County Assessor Vivian Wilhoite’s office has seen a record number of appeals.
Plus, the Tax Foundation notes that because the data only considers effective property tax rates on owner-occupied housing, it excludes property taxes paid by groups like businesses and renters, and median property taxes vary widely across and within all 50 states.
Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him with questions, tips and story ideas at ahornbostel@tennessean.com.
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