Hate Property Taxes? The County With the Lowest Tax in Every State

The ongoing housing affordability crisis in the United States has been driven largely by soaring home prices and historically high mortgage rates. The latest estimates from the National Association of Home Builders show that more than 100 million American households are currently unable to afford a median priced home. But, as every homeowner already knows, down payments and borrowing costs are only some of the expenses associated with buying and owning a home.

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According to a recent report from the Tax Foundation, a non-profit policy advocacy group, the typical American household paid nearly $1,900 in property taxes in fiscal 2021. Generally, these taxes are paid by homeowners as a specific percentage of the assessed value of their home. The single largest source of tax revenue for local governments in the United States, property taxes are used to fund public services and infrastructure such as road repairs, schools, libraries, and police and fire departments.

However, because property tax rates are set at the local level, exactly how much a given household pays in a given year depends not only on the value of their home, but also on where they live. Even within a single state, annual property tax payments can vary by thousands of dollars from one community to another — and in some parts of the country, property taxes are far less of a financial burden than they are in others.

Using data from the Tax Foundation, 24/7 Wall St. identified the county with the lowest property taxes in every state. Within each of the 50 states, we ranked counties and county equivalents on the median property tax payment in 2022. In the case of a tie, the county or county equivalent with a larger population ranks on this list. Supplemental data on statewide per capita property tax collections are also from the Tax Foundation and are current as of fiscal 2021. Median household income, median home value, and population figures are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey and overall cost of living estimates are from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Among the counties on this list, the median annual property tax bill ranges from about $200 to nearly $5,000. In nearly every case, these figures are lower than the per capita property tax collections across the state as a whole in the previous fiscal year. (Here is a look at the states with the most retirement-friendly tax policies.)

It is important to note that low property tax bills in these areas are not necessarily the product of below average rates alone. Because property taxes are levied as a percentage of home values, lower tax bills in these places are often due in part to lower value real estate. In nearly every county or county equivalent on this list, the median home value is less than the comparable statewide median — in most cases, by over $100,000. (Here is a look at the income you need to afford a home in every state.)

Property taxes are the single largest source of tax revenue for state and local governments in the United States. Unlike income taxes, which are levied at the state and federal levels, property taxes are largely determined by local governments, and partially as a result, they vary considerably across the country — and some Americans are paying far less every year than others.

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¹ https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps

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