Property taxes levied on single-family homes in 2018 totaled $304.6 billion, up 4% from $293.4 billion in 2017 and an average of $3,498 per home – an effective tax rate of 1.16% – according to an analysis by ATTOM Data Solutions.
The average property tax rate of $3,498 was up 3% from $3,399 in 2017.
The effective property tax rate of 1.16% was down from the effective property tax rate of 1.17% in 2017.
To arrive at the figures, ATTOM analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide at the state, metro and county levels along with estimated market values of single family homes calculated using an automated valuation model (AVM).
The effective tax rate was the average annual property tax expressed as a percentage of the average estimated market value of homes in each geographic area.
“Property taxes levied on homeowners rose again in 2018 across most of the country,” says Todd Teta, chief product officer for ATTOM Data Solutions, in a statement. “While many states across the country have imposed caps on how much taxes can go up, which probably contributed to a slower increase in 2018 versus 2017.
“There are still many factors at play that can contribute to local property tax hikes, and without major changes in the way a community runs public services, tax rates must rise to pay for them,” he adds.
States with the highest effective property tax rates were New Jersey (2.25%), Illinois (2.22%), Texas (2.18%), Vermont (2.16%), Connecticut (2.02%), New Hampshire (1.99%), New York (1.86%), Pennsylvania (1.79%), Ohio (1.69%), and Wisconsin (1.58%).
Among 219 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest effective property tax rates were Binghamton, N.Y. (3.19%); Syracuse, N.Y. (2.89%); Rochester, N.Y. (2.88%); Rockford, Ill. (2.83%); and Atlantic City, N.J. (2.74%).
States with the lowest effective property tax rates were Hawaii (0.37%), Alabama (0.48%), Colorado (0.51%), Nevada (0.57%), Utah (0.57%), West Virginia (0.58%), Delaware (0.61%), Arizona (0.64%), Tennessee (0.65%), and Wyoming (0.66%).
Cities with the lowest effective property tax rates were Laredo, Texas (0.35%); Honolulu (0.36%); Montgomery, Ala. (0.37%); Tuscaloosa, Ala. (0.39%); and Colorado Springs, Colo. (0.42%).
Among 1,408 U.S. counties with at least 10,000 single family homes, those with the highest average property taxes on single-family homes were largely located in the greater New York metro area, led by Westchester County ($17,392); Rockland County ($12,925); Marin County, Calif. ($12,242); Essex County, N.J. ($12,161); and Bergen County, N.J. ($11,771).
