Property tax · 3,152 counties · Census ACS 2024
What does property tax
really cost across America?
The average U.S. county's median property-tax bill is $1,993 a year, 0.92% of the home's value. Weight those counties by how many owner-occupied homes each actually holds and the average bill rises to $3,691, because the counties with the most homes are also the priciest. Across 3,152 counties in the latest Census ACS 2024 data.
- Counties
- 3,152
- States + DC
- 51
- Years of data
- 2020–2024
The national picture
Property tax bites hardest in New Jersey and lightest in Hawaii, a 7.8× spread, while the average U.S. county's effective rate sits at 0.92% on a median annual bill of $1,993.
- 0.92%
- Average county effective rate
- $1,993
- Average county median bill
- $3,691
- Same counties, weighted by homes
- $227,791
- Average county median home value
Each figure averages the 3,137 county medians with 2024 data, one county one vote, from Census ACS 5-year estimates. The three are computed independently, so dividing the bill by the value does not reproduce the rate exactly.
The rate fell. The bill did not.
Between 2020 and 2024 the average county effective rate fell from 1.04% to 0.92% (-12%), while the average county median bill rose from $1,632 to $1,994 (+22.2%). A falling rate is a falling share of a rising value, not a smaller bill.
A low rate is not a low bill.
The same split shows up across states in a single year. California charges 0.7%, below the 0.8% national median, and still produces a $5,124 median bill, because the rate applies to a $734,700 median home. 4 jurisdictions sit in that corner, under the median rate but at or above the median bill, while 21 are below both medians.
Effective rate against the bill it actually produces
Lowest property tax bills
Counties with the lowest median annual property tax. Bar length is relative to the $1,993 national average.
Highest property tax bills
Counties with the highest median annual property tax. Bar length is relative to the $1,993 national average.
Note: Census ACS top-codes the highest median property taxes at $10,001, so several high-cost counties share that ceiling. Effective-rate rankings separate them more meaningfully.
Browse by state
Guides & explainers
Go beyond the numbers with our guides on how property taxes work, how to appeal an assessment, and how homeownership costs stack up.
States With No Property Tax
No U.S. state levies zero property tax. See which come closest, starting with Hawaii at 0.27%, and why the lowest rate and the lowest bill are not the same state.
States with the Lowest Property Taxes
All states ranked by effective rate, from Hawaii's 0.27% to New Jersey's 2.11%. Census ACS data.
States with the Highest Property Taxes
The same 2024 Census ACS ranking read from the top down, led by New Jersey at 2.11%, with what drives the spread.
How Property Taxes Work
Learn how local governments assess property values and calculate your annual tax bill.
How to Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment
Step-by-step guide to challenging your assessed value and potentially lowering your tax bill.
How Property Tax Assessments Work
Market value vs assessed value, mill rates, exemptions, and the assessment cycle, explained with a key-terms table.
Property Tax by State
A data-driven look at how tax burden varies across the country and why effective rates beat headline numbers.
Property Tax Exemptions
Homestead, senior, veteran, disability and circuit-breaker relief: who qualifies, how to apply, and what a reported zero bill does not prove.
Understanding Mill Rates
What a mill is, how several taxing authorities stack levies on one bill, and why mill rates cannot be compared across jurisdictions without effective rates.
Original research
Data-driven studies built on the Census ACS B25103 series, who pays the most, where rates run highest, and how homeownership tracks tax burden.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does PlainPropertyTax get its data?
All figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates (table B25103), which report median real-estate taxes paid, median home values, and the resulting effective tax rate for every county in the United States.
How many counties does PlainPropertyTax cover?
PlainPropertyTax includes property tax data for 3,152 counties across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, with five years of trend data from 2020 to 2024.
Is PlainPropertyTax free?
Yes. You can look up property taxes for any county, compare states, use the estimator, and read our rent-vs-own analysis without an account or payment.
How is the effective property tax rate calculated?
The effective tax rate divides median property taxes paid by median home value for each area, as reported in Census ACS data. It reflects true tax burden better than nominal mill rates, which vary by local assessment methodology.
How is the state tax rate spread calculated?
The spread is the highest state effective rate divided by the lowest: New Jersey's 2.11% divided by Hawaii's 0.27%, currently a 7.8× difference. It's a plain ratio of the two state-level effective rates, not a weighted or population-adjusted average.
Where to start
Three ways to turn this data into a decision about your own property tax.
- The average U.S. county's median bill is about $1,993 a year (0.92% of home value), or $3,691 once counties are weighted by the homes they hold. Look up any of 3,152 counties to see how yours compares. Compare counties
- Effective rates run from Hawaii's 0.27% to New Jersey's 2.11% - see where every state lands and why. States ranked
- Weighing a move, a purchase, or an appeal? Estimate the annual bill on any home value at your county's effective rate. Tax estimator
National figures are ACS medians across all 3,152 counties; your bill depends on your county's rate, your assessed value, and local exemptions. U.S. Census Bureau ACS · 2024.
Your county watchlist
Keep the counties you compare in one private list
Save any county profile to reopen its latest published ACS median tax, home value, and effective rate in this browser. Your watchlist can compare the first two saved counties, copy a share link, or subscribe to an RSS feed. Nothing is sent to PlainPropertyTax.
Source refresh clock
- Current ACS snapshot
- Next expected ACS release
- By
We refresh county figures when the Census Bureau publishes each new ACS 5-year vintage. A release does not change every county on the same day; updated values appear as each extract is processed.
PlainPropertyTax displays Census Bureau survey estimates and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Contact your county assessor or a licensed tax professional for figures specific to your property.
About this data
How PlainPropertyTax works, and why you can trust these numbers
Tax data scope
PlainPropertyTax shows median property taxes, home values, and effective tax rates for 3,152 US counties. Every figure comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-year estimates (table B25103), not modeled or estimated data.
How comparisons are built
- Source. Pull median real-estate taxes paid and median home values from the Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates (table B25103) for every county, refreshed as each new ACS vintage releases.
- Verify. The effective tax rate is calculated directly from median taxes paid divided by median home value as reported by the Census Bureau, with five years of trend data tracked per county.
- Publish. Compile per-county and per-state pages with the source vintage stamped, and log every correction in the next data refresh.
Independence and corrections
PlainPropertyTax is an independent project and is not affiliated with the U.S. Census Bureau, any state or local government, or any tax authority; it does not accept paid placement or sponsored listings. Found an error? Email hello@plainpropertytax.com. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
Property-tax questions
Where does PlainPropertyTax get its data?
All figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates (table B25103), which report median real-estate taxes paid, median home values, and the resulting effective tax rate for every county in the United States.
How many counties does PlainPropertyTax cover?
PlainPropertyTax includes property tax data for 3,152 counties across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, with five years of trend data from 2020 to 2024.
Is PlainPropertyTax free?
Yes. You can look up property taxes for any county, compare states, use the estimator, and read our rent-vs-own analysis without an account or payment.
How is the effective property tax rate calculated?
The effective tax rate divides median property taxes paid by median home value for each area, as reported in Census ACS data. It reflects true tax burden better than nominal mill rates, which vary by local assessment methodology.
How is the state tax rate spread calculated?
The spread is the highest state effective rate divided by the lowest: New Jersey's 2.11% divided by Hawaii's 0.27%, currently a 7.8× difference. It's a plain ratio of the two state-level effective rates, not a weighted or population-adjusted average.
PlainPropertyTax is rendered directly from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.