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Which States Have the Highest Property Taxes?

Written by Shawnna Stiver on December 16, 2025

Reviewed by Jeff Rankin, Edited by Alycia Lucio

States with some of the highest property taxes include New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut, while states like Hawaii, Alabama, and Colorado have some of the lowest property taxes. The amount you pay in property taxes depends on your home’s assessed value and local tax rates, both of which vary by location and fiscal year.

The Tax Foundation reports that in fiscal year 2022, property taxes made up 27.4% of total state and local tax collections in the United States, which was more than any other revenue source. These funds are vital for communities, paying for schools, roads, and emergency services. However, property taxes also play a significant role in housing affordability as they impact your overall homeownership or rental costs.

What are property taxes based on?

Property taxes are determined by your local government and based on two main factors: your home’s assessed value and the local tax rate, often called a “millage rate”.

Assessed value: A local assessor determines the value of your property. This is different from the market value, which is what the home might sell for. The assessment is done periodically, typically every one to five years, to ensure it reflects current property values.
Millage rate: The millage rate is the amount of tax payable per dollar of the assessed value of a property. One mill is equal to one-thousandth of a dollar, or $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value. Local governments — like counties, cities, and school districts — set these rates to generate the revenue needed to fund public services.

The final tax bill is calculated by multiplying the assessed value of your property by the local millage rate.

Let us do the math for you. Use Zillow’s Property Tax Calculator to estimate your annual and monthly property taxes based on your county.

Because the assessed value of a home and the millage rate for local government can differ greatly, property taxes on homes with the same market value can be thousands of dollars apart depending on their location. A $150,000 home in Madison County, Alabama, for instance, might have an annual property tax of just $585, while a home with the same value in Champaign County, Illinois, could face a bill of $2,955.

Property taxes by state (ranked from lowest to highest)

To help you understand how property taxes vary across the country, we’ve ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the lowest effective tax rate to the highest effective tax rate.

The table below provides a snapshot of what homeowners can expect to pay in each state based on 2025 internal Zillow data.*

	State Name	Typical Home Value	Avg State Tax Rate	Avg Property Taxes
1	Hawaii	$831,289	0.30%	$2,535
2	Arizona	$426,164	0.37%	$1,579
3	Tennessee	$334,133	0.38%	$1,280
4	Idaho	$472,273	0.39%	$1,823
5	South Carolina	$303,644	0.40%	$1,219
6	Alabama	$235,066	0.41%	$957
7	Nevada	$452,606	0.43%	$1,946
8	Arkansas	$219,391	0.46%	$1,019
9	West Virginia	$173,189	0.46%	$789
10	Colorado	$549,409	0.48%	$2,648
11	Delaware	$404,612	0.48%	$1,953
12	Vermont	$409,134	0.48%	$1,946
13	Utah	$534,478	0.50%	$2,667
14	Montana	$464,163	0.57%	$2,662
15	Wyoming	$370,629	0.57%	$2,124
16	North Carolina	$336,465	0.59%	$1,978
17	Mississippi	$191,607	0.59%	$1,133
18	Louisiana	$212,038	0.61%	$1,302
19	New Mexico	$314,968	0.64%	$2,029
20	California	$775,058	0.71%	$5,539
21	Kentucky	$224,303	0.71%	$1,599
22	District of Columbia	$594,384	0.72%	$4,271
23	Oklahoma	$217,703	0.75%	$1,638
24	Indiana	$254,412	0.76%	$1,937
25	Missouri	$261,715	0.77%	$2,003
26	Virginia	$410,032	0.80%	$3,263
27	Georgia	$334,839	0.84%	$2,813
28	Washington	$606,025	0.85%	$5,170
29	Oregon	$504,721	0.85%	$4,289
30	Florida	$382,136	0.89%	$3,400
31	Maryland	$435,024	0.90%	$3,899
32	Maine	$419,034	0.92%	$3,871
33	New York	$509,127	0.94%	$4,793
34	South Dakota	$319,742	0.98%	$3,141
35	Massachusetts	$658,406	0.99%	$6,491
36	Michigan	$262,505	1.02%	$2,679
37	Nebraska	$276,711	1.02%	$2,826
38	North Dakota	$283,618	1.03%	$2,916
39	New Hampshire	$509,458	1.04%	$5,307
40	Minnesota	$351,614	1.06%	$3,711
41	Rhode Island	$496,412	1.10%	$5,480
42	Texas	$304,005	1.16%	$3,513
43	Wisconsin	$331,195	1.17%	$3,878
44	Kansas	$242,980	1.20%	$2,908
45	Alaska	$383,379	1.23%	$4,730
46	Ohio	$243,907	1.25%	$3,037
47	Pennsylvania	$286,351	1.29%	$3,694
48	Iowa	$233,008	1.32%	$3,067
49	Connecticut	$437,232	1.53%	$6,691
50	New Jersey	$569,578	1.68%	$9,554
51	Illinois	$286,669	2.07%	$5,941

*Zillow data is comprised by taking public county tax assessor information at the property level, which we then divide by our Zestimates for the property to get the “effective” tax rate based on the home’s Zestimate, rather than the county’s assessed value.

What a higher or lower property tax rate means for you

Whether you’re renting, looking to buy a home in an affordable area or you’re a current homeowner, property taxes impact all aspects of house affordability. While most policies are intended to improve a particular aspect of a community, it can have unintended impacts on others. Here’s how:

Higher mortgage payments: If you’re buying a home, property taxes are often rolled into your monthly mortgage payment along with principal, interest, and insurance. A higher tax rate can push your monthly payment up, making homes less affordable over time.
Increased rent: Landlords can pass higher property taxes on to renters in the form of rent increases. If you’re worried about affordability, explore options like Housing Choice Vouchers or search for rentals in areas with lower tax rates.
Reduced purchasing power: When more of your budget goes to taxes, you can afford less home for the same monthly payment. Use Zillow Home Loans’ BuyAbility tool to see how property taxes affect your real-time home buying budget.
Foreclosure risk: For some homeowners, a sudden increase in property taxes can make it harder to keep up with monthly payments. Over time, this strain can increase the risk of missed payments or foreclosure, especially if your budget is already tight.
Reduced inventory of homes: Higher property taxes can discourage some owners from selling, since they may not be able to afford the taxes in a new area. This can limit inventory for buyers and drive up competition in lower-tax regions.