Property tax guide
States With the Highest Property Taxes (2024)
New Jersey tops both the effective-rate and the median-bill ranking, and it is the only state that does. For everywhere else the answer changes with the measure: only 6 of the top ten states appear on both lists.
Two rankings, not one
New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the 2024 Census ACS on both measures, but only 6 of the top 10 states appear in both the effective-rate and median-bill rankings.
- 2.11%
- New Jersey, highest rate
- $9,590
- New Jersey, highest median bill
- 6/10
- states shared by both top tens
- 28 places
- California, widest rank split
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024. Effective rate and annual bill answer different questions; neither is an individual tax quote.
Where the Two Rankings Disagree
4 states appear in the top ten by rate but not by bill, and 4 appear in the top ten by bill but not by rate. These are the states a single-measure list silently drops.
| State | Appears in | Rank by rate | Rank by bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | Rate top 10 only | 7th | 17th | $238,600 |
| Texas | Rate top 10 only | 8th | 12th | $283,800 |
| Wisconsin | Rate top 10 only | 9th | 16th | $266,500 |
| Iowa | Rate top 10 only | 10th | 22nd | $208,000 |
| Massachusetts | Bill top 10 only | 17th | 5th | $562,100 |
| California | Bill top 10 only | 35th | 7th | $734,700 |
| Rhode Island | Bill top 10 only | 15th | 9th | $404,200 |
| Washington | Bill top 10 only | 25th | 10th | $564,600 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2024) Both ranks are computed from the same state records: effective rate = median annual taxes paid ÷ median home value.
Why the two lists disagree
Highest Property Taxes by Effective Rate
The share of a home's value paid in property tax each year. This is the measure that compares tax burden independently of local house prices.
| Rank | State | Effective rate | Median annual bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | 2.11% | $9,590 |
| 2 | Illinois | 2.01% | $5,298 |
| 3 | Connecticut | 1.81% | $6,643 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | 1.66% | $6,667 |
| 5 | Vermont | 1.59% | $5,039 |
| 6 | New York | 1.55% | $6,582 |
| 7 | Nebraska | 1.49% | $3,549 |
| 8 | Texas | 1.49% | $4,232 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 1.42% | $3,792 |
| 10 | Iowa | 1.39% | $2,897 |
Highest Property Taxes by Annual Bill
The dollars a typical owner actually pays. This is the measure most people mean when they ask which state has the highest property taxes, and it rewards expensive housing markets even where the rate is modest.
| Rank | State | Median annual bill | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $9,590 | 2.11% |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $6,667 | 1.66% |
| 3 | Connecticut | $6,643 | 1.81% |
| 4 | New York | $6,582 | 1.55% |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $5,992 | 1.07% |
| 6 | Illinois | $5,298 | 2.01% |
| 7 | California | $5,124 | 0.70% |
| 8 | Vermont | $5,039 | 1.59% |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $4,900 | 1.21% |
| 10 | Washington | $4,556 | 0.81% |
The Highest-Taxed Counties in the Country
State figures are averages over every county in the state, so they hide the places that actually pay the most. These are the highest county-level effective rates in the same 2024 release.
They are ranked by rate rather than by bill for a reason worth stating. 17 counties report a median property-tax bill of $10,001, which is not a coincidence: it is the ceiling the American Community Survey publishes, so every county at or above it is recorded at the same capped figure. Those counties are tied, not ordered, and any "highest bill" county ranking is really a list of ties sorted by something else. Effective rate carries no such ceiling.
| Rank | County | State | Effective rate | Median annual bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menominee County | Wisconsin | 3.56% | $3,926 |
| 2 | Salem County | New Jersey | 2.93% | $7,018 |
| 3 | Allegany County | New York | 2.92% | $2,968 |
| 4 | Camden County | New Jersey | 2.83% | $8,134 |
| 5 | Orleans County | New York | 2.72% | $3,823 |
| 6 | Cattaraugus County | New York | 2.64% | $2,991 |
| 7 | Monroe County | New York | 2.63% | $5,616 |
| 8 | Gloucester County | New Jersey | 2.60% | $8,055 |
| 9 | Lake County | Illinois | 2.58% | $8,923 |
| 10 | Cortland County | New York | 2.56% | $4,149 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2024) County medians are published separately from state medians and are not a subdivision of them. Ranked by effective rate because ACS top-codes the median tax amount, leaving the highest-billed counties tied at a ceiling rather than ordered.
Common Questions
What state charges the highest property taxes?
New Jersey, on both measures, and the only state that tops both lists. Its effective rate is 2.11% of median home value and its median annual bill is $9,590 in the 2024 Census ACS. For every other state the answer depends on which measure you mean.
What are the top 3 most heavily taxed states by property tax rate?
By effective rate in the 2024 Census ACS: 1. New Jersey at 2.11%, 2. Illinois at 2.01%, 3. Connecticut at 1.81%. Ranked by median annual bill instead, the top three are 1. New Jersey at $9,590, 2. New Hampshire at $6,667, 3. Connecticut at $6,643.
Why do the highest-rate and highest-bill lists disagree?
Because the effective rate is the median bill divided by the median home value. A state with expensive homes can produce a large bill from a modest rate, and a state with inexpensive homes can produce a small bill from a steep rate. California is the clearest case in this data: 7th by median bill at $5,124, but only 35th by rate at 0.70%, because its median home value is $734,700. Neither ranking is wrong; they answer different questions.
Is a high state rate the rate I will actually pay?
No. Property taxes are levied locally, so the state figure is a benchmark built from every county in the state, not a rate applied to your home. Counties inside a single state routinely differ by more than the gap between two neighbouring states, which is why the county table below and the individual county profiles exist.
Where to Go Next
- States with the lowest property taxes: the same two measures at the other end of the range.
- Which states come closest to no property tax: why no state levies none, and which bills come nearest to zero.
- Average property tax by state, all 50 ranked: the full table rather than the top ten.
- Counties with the highest property tax bills: the county ranking in full.
Choose the ranking that matches the decision
Rate measures burden relative to home value; bill measures the dollars a median owner pays.
- Use effective rate for cross-state burden comparisons that are less distorted by home prices. Compare every state
- Use the annual-bill ranking when the dollar outlay is the question, while respecting the ACS top-code caveat. See county bills
- Check the county profile before applying either statewide median to a specific property. Browse counties
These are Census medians, not statutory rates or tax advice. Local assessments, levies, and exemptions determine a real bill.
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. Both rankings on this page are computed from the same Census ACS state records the rest of the site uses, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.