The typical American homeowner pays $3,119 a year in property taxes on a home worth $332,700, or about 0.94% of its value. That national median hides a remarkable spread. In Choctaw County, Alabama, the median owner pays $207 a year. In eight New Jersey counties and six New York counties, the median bill is so high that the Census Bureau stops counting: it reports only “$10,000 or more.”
We compared all 3,140 counties and county equivalents in our directory using the same federal survey, so the figures line up from place to place. Below are the highest and lowest bills, the counties that tax most heavily relative to home values, how the largest metro counties compare, and why neighbors in the same state can face very different bills.
The short answer
- The highest bills are in the New York City suburbs. Eight New Jersey counties and six New York counties have a median bill of $10,000 or more, the Census Bureau’s top code.
- The heaviest taxes relative to value are in New Jersey, upstate New York, and Illinois. Salem County, NJ, and Allegany County, NY, both pay about 2.9% of home value a year.
- The lightest are in Alabama, Louisiana, and Hawaii. East Feliciana Parish, Maui County, and Choctaw County all come in under 0.2%.
- Big counties vary sevenfold. Among large counties with a measurable ratio, Cuyahoga County, OH, is near 2.0% and Honolulu is under 0.3%.
- Your county is not your state. County ratios inside one state often differ by a factor of two or three, and recent buyers often pay more than the median.
How we measured
All figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (opens in a new tab). Two tables do most of the work: median real estate taxes paid by owner-occupied homes (B25103) and median home value as estimated by owners (B25077). Dividing the first by the second gives a “tax ÷ value” ratio, a widely used approximation of the effective tax rate. It is not an official rate, and it is not what any particular home pays.
- Top-coding: the Census Bureau publishes median taxes only up to $10,000. Counties above that line appear as “$10,000+”, and we leave them out of the ratio rankings rather than understate them.
- Small samples: we drop counties where the margin of error on the median tax exceeds 25% of the estimate, which left 3,010 counties with reliable figures. Ranked lists also exclude counties with fewer than 10,000 residents.
- Timing: five-year estimates pool responses from 2020 through 2024, so they lag recent reassessments and rate changes.
The biggest bills: where the median tops $10,000
Twenty-one counties in our directory hit the $10,000 ceiling. (The full Census file has 24; the other three are small areas our directory does not list separately: Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, and Alaska’s Copper River and Kusilvak census areas.) Most sit in the New York City commuter belt, where high home values meet high local rates:
- New Jersey (8): Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, and Union counties.
- New York (6): Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and New York County (Manhattan).
- Elsewhere: Marin and Santa Clara counties in California, and the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia, where median home values exceed $1 million.
A handful of very small areas also reach the top code: three Alaska boroughs and census areas and one Louisiana parish. With so few owner-occupied homes surveyed, those are better read as sampling noise than as a pattern.
New Jersey stands out even below the ceiling. The statewide median bill is $9,590, the highest of any state and more than three times the national figure. Hudson County ($9,555) and Camden County ($8,134) fall just short of the top code.
The heaviest taxes relative to home value
Dollar amounts mostly track home prices. The ratio of tax to value shows where taxes are heavy for what the home is worth. Among counties with at least 10,000 residents, the top of the list belongs to New Jersey, upstate New York, and the Chicago suburbs:
| County | Median tax | Median value | Tax ÷ value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem County, NJ | $7,018 | $239,500 | 2.93% |
| Allegany County, NY | $2,968 | $101,700 | 2.92% |
| Camden County, NJ | $8,134 | $287,100 | 2.83% |
| Orleans County, NY | $3,823 | $140,800 | 2.72% |
| Cattaraugus County, NY | $2,991 | $113,100 | 2.65% |
| Monroe County, NY | $5,616 | $213,700 | 2.63% |
| Gloucester County, NJ | $8,055 | $310,400 | 2.60% |
| Lake County, IL | $8,923 | $345,700 | 2.58% |
| Cortland County, NY | $4,149 | $162,100 | 2.56% |
| Broome County, NY | $3,902 | $154,900 | 2.52% |
Across all reliable counties, 84 have a ratio of 2% or more. New York has 33 of them, Illinois 29, and New Jersey 10. In western and central New York the bills are modest in dollars. Homes there are inexpensive, but school, county, and town levies still have to be funded from a smaller base of value, so the ratio climbs.
The lightest property taxes
At the other end, 466 counties have a ratio below 0.5%. Alabama dominates the bottom of the list. The state taxes an owner-occupied home on 10% of its appraised value, and its constitution limits the combined tax on such homes, as our Alabama guide explains. Louisiana parishes, helped by a large homestead exemption, and Hawaii’s counties fill out the rest:
| County | Median tax | Median value | Tax ÷ value |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Feliciana Parish, LA | $339 | $228,100 | 0.15% |
| Maui County, HI | $1,466 | $904,700 | 0.16% |
| Choctaw County, AL | $207 | $123,400 | 0.17% |
| Avoyelles Parish, LA | $249 | $122,400 | 0.20% |
| Bibb County, AL | $298 | $145,700 | 0.20% |
| Clay County, AL | $331 | $156,700 | 0.21% |
| Kauai County, HI | $1,866 | $873,200 | 0.21% |
| Las Animas County, CO | $535 | $237,600 | 0.23% |
Hawaii shows why the ratio and the bill can tell different stories. Maui homeowners have one of the lowest ratios in the country, yet their median bill of $1,466 is about seven times Choctaw County’s. Very high home values offset very low rates, and each Hawaii county sets its own rates and homeowner classes.
How the largest counties compare
Forty-eight counties have more than a million residents, and they are home to a large share of all homeowners. In four of them (Nassau, Suffolk, and New York counties in New York, and Santa Clara County in California) the median bill is top-coded, so no ratio can be computed. The other 44 span a sevenfold range:
| County | Median tax | Tax ÷ value |
|---|---|---|
| Cuyahoga County, OH (Cleveland) | $3,910 | 2.00% |
| Cook County, IL (Chicago) | $6,191 | 1.91% |
| Bexar County, TX (San Antonio) | $4,535 | 1.73% |
| Tarrant County, TX (Fort Worth) | $5,334 | 1.65% |
| Wayne County, MI (Detroit) | $2,904 | 1.63% |
| Los Angeles County, CA | $5,675 | 0.68% |
| Salt Lake County, UT | $2,836 | 0.54% |
| Clark County, NV (Las Vegas) | $2,057 | 0.48% |
| Maricopa County, AZ (Phoenix) | $1,983 | 0.44% |
| Honolulu County, HI | $2,553 | 0.28% |
Six of the ten big counties with the highest ratios are in Texas: Bexar, Tarrant, Harris, Dallas, Collin, and Travis all fall between 1.48% and 1.73%. Texas has no state personal income tax, and its local governments and schools rely heavily on property tax. Los Angeles shows the opposite pattern. Its median bill is higher than Bexar’s, but because Proposition 13 limits annual increases in assessed value until a home sells, long-time owners pay on values well below today’s prices. That pulls the ratio down. The Prop 13 guide explains how.
Your state average is not your county
Within a single state, county ratios often differ by a factor of two or three. That matters if you are choosing between metro areas or suburbs:
- Texas: from 0.75% in Llano County to 2.03% in El Paso County.
- New York: from 0.71% in Kings County (Brooklyn) to 2.92% in Allegany County.
- Georgia: from 0.33% in Fannin County to 1.33% in Dougherty County.
- Ohio: from 0.82% in Brown County to 2.00% in Cuyahoga County.
- Florida: from 0.45% in Walton County to 0.96% in Alachua County.
These ranges include counties with at least 20,000 residents. Even within one county, the city, school district, and special districts on a parcel can shift the combined rate considerably.
Why the same house is taxed so differently
Four forces explain most of the variation in these figures:
- How much local government relies on property tax. Places that fund schools mostly through local property tax, or that have no income tax, need higher rates.
- Assessment rules. Fractional assessment ratios (Alabama’s 10%), large homestead exemptions, and caps on annual increases (California, Florida, Texas homesteads) lower the taxable value that the rate applies to.
- Home values. The same levy spread over more expensive homes produces a lower rate. That is why coastal metros can show modest ratios but large bills.
- How long the owner has held the home. Where caps apply, long-time owners pay on older, lower values, while recent buyers often pay closer to market value. The median blends both groups.
The fourth point matters most for buyers. A county’s median may understate what a new owner will pay, especially in states that reset the assessment after a sale. See how to research property taxes before buying, and use the bill calculation worksheet with the actual rate for a parcel.
Look up your own county
Every county page in our directory now shows its median tax, median value, ratio, rank within its state, and a comparison with neighboring counties. Each state page includes a table of all its counties, for example New Jersey by county or Texas by county. For a single property, the assessor’s record and your actual tax bill remain the authority.
Frequently asked questions
Which county has the highest property taxes in the US?
No single county can be named from Census data. Twenty-four areas, led by eight New Jersey counties and six New York counties, have a median bill of “$10,000 or more,” and the survey does not report anything higher. Measured against home value, Salem County, NJ (2.93%) and Allegany County, NY (2.92%) top the list among counties with at least 10,000 residents.
Which county has the lowest property taxes?
Choctaw County, Alabama, has the lowest median bill, at $207 a year. By tax as a share of value, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana (0.15%) and Maui County, Hawaii (0.16%) are lowest. Maui’s low ratio comes with very high home values, so its median bill is still $1,466.
What is the average property tax rate in the US?
The national median owner pays $3,119 a year on a home worth $332,700, about 0.94% of value. That ratio is an approximation, not an official rate. Your actual bill depends on your parcel’s assessed value, the exemptions you claim, and the combined rate of every taxing unit that covers it.
Why are property taxes so high in New Jersey?
Schools and towns there rely heavily on local property tax, and home values are high. The statewide median bill is $9,590, more than three times the national figure. Our New Jersey guide and New Jersey relief programs guide cover what owners can claim.
How can I lower my property tax bill?
Two steps help most owners. First, make sure you have every exemption you qualify for, starting with the homestead exemption. Second, check your assessment against recent sales, and appeal if it is too high. Our appeal preparation guide walks through the evidence. You can find your assessor through the county finder.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25103, B25077, and B01003. Medians describe owner-occupied homes and rely on owners’ survey answers; they are estimates with margins of error and are not official tax rates.