Property tax across the states: the big picture
Why effective property-tax rates vary so much from state to state, and what drives a high or low rate.
Updated Oct 24, 2026
A wide range
Effective property-tax rates differ more across states than almost any other tax. A homeowner in the highest-rate states can pay several times what a homeowner in the lowest-rate states pays on a home of the same value.
Two forces set the level: how much local government and schools cost, and how that cost is split between property tax and other revenue such as income or sales tax.
What pushes a rate up or down
States that lean on property tax to fund schools tend to have higher effective rates. States with strong income or severance (resource) revenue, or large tourism-driven sales tax, can keep property rates low.
Home-value levels matter too: where values are very high, a low rate still raises a large bill, and where values are low, even a high rate yields a modest dollar amount.
Reading the comparison
Use the effective rate to compare the burden between places and the median dollar bill to picture the actual cost. The state pages rank every county so you can see how much variation exists within a single state.