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Median property taxes paid by state

New Jersey has the highest estimate ($9,358); West Virginia has the lowest ($881). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, 2024.

Data year: 2024Source released Sept. 11, 2025Last updated Oct. 23, 2026B25103

50 ranked states; DC and Puerto Rico appear as reference rows where the source supplies them. Highest does not mean best. Ranks reflect point estimates; close values may not differ statistically.

Lowest state estimate $881 West Virginia
Highest state estimate $9,358 New Jersey
New Jersey: $9,358 New Hampshire: $6,707 Connecticut: $6,573 New York: $6,542 Massachusetts: $6,080 Illinois: $5,399 California: $5,369 Vermont: $5,026 Rhode Island: $4,886 Washington: $4,729 Maryland: $4,144 Texas: $4,108 Alaska: $3,976 Oregon: $3,895 Nebraska: $3,739 Wisconsin: $3,680 Minnesota: $3,501 Pennsylvania: $3,214 Maine: $3,103 Florida: $2,993 Michigan: $2,988 Kansas: $2,983 South Dakota: $2,940 Montana: $2,939 Iowa: $2,937 Ohio: $2,937 Virginia: $2,872 Colorado: $2,828 Utah: $2,648 Georgia: $2,554 North Dakota: $2,550 Hawaii: $2,385 Nevada: $2,143 North Carolina: $2,044 Missouri: $2,021 Wyoming: $1,947 Idaho: $1,912 Arizona: $1,828 Indiana: $1,798 New Mexico: $1,776 Delaware: $1,750 Oklahoma: $1,672 Kentucky: $1,611 Tennessee: $1,488 South Carolina: $1,337 Mississippi: $1,221 Louisiana: $1,187 Arkansas: $1,113 Alabama: $890 West Virginia: $881
Each dot is a state. The scale runs from the lowest to highest estimate; intervals are not shown here. Read about uncertainty.

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is $2,937: the average of the 25th and 26th ordered state estimates. This treats each state equally, so it answers a different question from a population-weighted national estimate.

No other state is statistically tied with New Jersey at 90% confidence. Every other state differs from the highest point estimate under this pairwise test. This is not a confidence interval for rank, and testing multiple pairs increases false-positive risk.

See the top ten estimates with their 90% margins of error$862$9,411New JerseyNew HampshireConnecticutNew YorkMassachusettsIllinoisCaliforniaVermontRhode IslandWashington

Shared axis spans the complete 50-state estimate ± MOE range. Intervals describe individual estimates; overlapping intervals alone are not our significance test.

Do the highest bills come from the highest rates?

These states’ ranks change the most between median property taxes paid and effective property tax rate. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

StateMedian property taxes paidEffective property tax rate
California$5,369 · #70.71% · #32
Hawaii$2,385 · #320.27% · #50
Iowa$2,937 · #251.29% · #9

Inspect these states, definitions and pairwise differences.

Values over time

Annual ACS 1-year estimates, 2021–2024. Each year is a separate published survey release; 2020 is excluded because the Census Bureau did not release standard 1-year estimates for that year. Dollar figures are in each year’s dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Ranks are recalculated among the same 50 states for each year.

The state-by-state view

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Ranked among 50 states; District of Columbia and Puerto Rico shown for reference. Rank 1 = highest value.

Median property taxes paid · 2024 · U.S. dollars
RankState / jurisdictionValue90% margin of errorDifference from previous rank
1New Jersey$9,358± $53Highest estimate
2New Hampshire$6,707± $88Different at 90%
3Connecticut$6,573± $47Different at 90%
4New York$6,542± $47Not distinguishable at 90%
5Massachusetts$6,080± $39Different at 90%
6Illinois$5,399± $43Different at 90%
7California$5,369± $34Not distinguishable at 90%
8Vermont$5,026± $131Different at 90%
9Rhode Island$4,886± $76Not distinguishable at 90%
10Washington$4,729± $41Different at 90%
11Maryland$4,144± $40Different at 90%
12Texas$4,108± $42Not distinguishable at 90%
13Alaska$3,976± $149Not distinguishable at 90%
14Oregon$3,895± $40Not distinguishable at 90%
15Nebraska$3,739± $49Different at 90%
16Wisconsin$3,680± $23Different at 90%
17Minnesota$3,501± $24Different at 90%
18Pennsylvania$3,214± $26Different at 90%
19Maine$3,103± $56Different at 90%
20Florida$2,993± $20Different at 90%
21Michigan$2,988± $19Not distinguishable at 90%
22Kansas$2,983± $45Not distinguishable at 90%
23South Dakota$2,940± $67Not distinguishable at 90%
24Montana$2,939± $57Not distinguishable at 90%
25Iowa$2,937± $34Not distinguishable at 90%
25Ohio$2,937± $20Not distinguishable at 90%
27Virginia$2,872± $25Different at 90%
28Colorado$2,828± $25Different at 90%
29Utah$2,648± $22Different at 90%
30Georgia$2,554± $26Different at 90%
31North Dakota$2,550± $64Not distinguishable at 90%
32Hawaii$2,385± $58Different at 90%
33Nevada$2,143± $48Different at 90%
34North Carolina$2,044± $20Different at 90%
35Missouri$2,021± $29Not distinguishable at 90%
36Wyoming$1,947± $50Different at 90%
37Idaho$1,912± $27Not distinguishable at 90%
38Arizona$1,828± $17Different at 90%
39Indiana$1,798± $19Different at 90%
40New Mexico$1,776± $45Not distinguishable at 90%
41Delaware$1,750± $40Not distinguishable at 90%
42Oklahoma$1,672± $24Different at 90%
43Kentucky$1,611± $26Different at 90%
44Tennessee$1,488± $17Different at 90%
45South Carolina$1,337± $15Different at 90%
46Mississippi$1,221± $29Different at 90%
47Louisiana$1,187± $31Not distinguishable at 90%
48Arkansas$1,113± $21Different at 90%
49Alabama$890± $17Different at 90%
50West Virginia$881± $19Not distinguishable at 90%
Ref.District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states$4,594± $245Reference jurisdiction
Ref.Puerto RicoNot ranked among states$619± $38Reference jurisdiction

50 states plus 2 reference rows.

What this ranking measures

The median amount of real estate taxes paid in a year on owner-occupied homes, as reported by owners in the American Community Survey.

A tax bill, not a tax rate: expensive homes raise bills even where rates are low. Renters, whose landlords pay property tax, are not included. Exemptions are reflected only through what owners actually paid.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is $8,477. The U.S. benchmark is $3,211. It is not a simple average of the states.

18 states have point estimates above the U.S. benchmark and 32 below it. These counts do not establish statistical significance.

How much should you read into a rank?

Each estimate has a 90% margin of error published by the Census Bureau. For two different states, we flag a difference only when its absolute size exceeds the square root of the sum of their squared margins of error. The comparison tool applies this check to every selected pair.

Non-significance is not proof of equality. These pairwise tests are not adjusted for multiple comparisons and do not form ranking confidence intervals. Statistical method and limitations.

Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).

Keep exploring

Read the ranking methodology.

Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.

Source and method

Producer
U.S. Census Bureau
Product / file
ACS 1-year · B25103
Period
2024
Unit
U.S. dollars
Calculation
Published estimate (B25103_001); no transformation of the value. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
Coverage
The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
Cadence
Annual. 2025 ACS 1-year estimates scheduled for October 29, 2026 (Census ACS updates page); adoption follows editorial review.
Independence
Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.

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Download the default full table (CSV) or use the download above for the table’s current filter and order. Data dictionary and source metadata

Updates and corrections

Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.

Related rankings

State distributions: each mark is one state, from lowest to highest. Each row uses its own scale.

01

Property tax rates by state

2024 · Census ACS

1.92% Illinois · highest estimate 02

Cheapest states to buy a house (home values)

2024 · Census ACS

$875,900 Hawaii · highest estimate 03

Monthly owner costs with a mortgage

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$3,001 California · highest estimate

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