Property tax regularly ranks among the least popular forms of taxation in the United States. Though property taxes are generally set by local authorities such as cities, counties, and school boards, states often establish parameters in order to keep tax rates somewhat uniform. Each state, however, has different parameters, and as a result, what homeowners end up paying out of pocket can vary considerably from state to state.

In some parts of the country, property taxes are so low as to be almost trivial. In others, however, they can be a major financial burden.

Using data from tax policy research organization the Tax Foundation, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed total annual property tax collections as a share of the total value of owner-occupied housing units at the state level to identify the states with the highest (and lowest) property taxes.

It is important to note that a low property tax rate does not necessarily mean a low overall tax burden. State and local governments need to meet their financial obligations one way or another, and a low effective property tax rate can often mean that other tax rates, like sales or income taxes, might be higher.

In Massachusetts in 2018, $9.1 billion were paid in state and local real estate taxes, equal to 1.08% of the state’s aggregate home value of $834.6 billion. That effective property tax rate ranks 18th highest among states and is roughly in line with the national effective property tax rate of 1%. On a per capita basis, Massachusetts residents paid $2,562 in state and local property taxes, sixth highest among states and higher than the national per capita property taxes paid of $1,667.

Not all residents in the state pay property taxes. An estimated 62.2% of homes in the state are owner-occupied, the eighth lowest homeownership rate among states, and lower than the comparable national rate of 64.1%. The typical Massachusetts home value is $418,600, the third highest of any state. In comparison the U.S. median home value is $240,500.

To determine the states with the highest and lowest property taxes, 24/7 Wall St. calculated the effective property tax rate — the total amount of property taxes paid annually as a percentage of the total value of all occupied homes — for all 50 states using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey. Data on median home value, median household income, and population also came from the 2019 ACS. Data on state and local property tax revenue used to calculate per capita property taxes came from the Census Bureau’s 2018 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances and were adjusted for the adult population using the total number of residents 18 years and up.

State	Real estate taxes paid (2018)	Rank	Total home value (2018)	Rank	Effective property tax rate (2018)	Rank	State and local property taxes paid per capita (2018)	Rank	Homeownership Rate (2019)	Rank Addendum	Median home value (2019)	Rank
Alabama	$931 million	37	$249.6 billion	27	0.4%	49	$596	50	68.8%	15	$154,000	45
Alaska	$471 million	47	$48.2 billion	50	1.0%	21	$2,206	10	64.7%	38	$281,200	15
Arizona	$3.2 billion	22	$534.5 billion	17	0.6%	39	$1,106	34	65.3%	36	$255,900	18
Arkansas	$797 million	41	$129.8 billion	37	0.6%	38	$774	48	65.5%	34	$136,200	48
California	$36.8 billion	1	$5.3 trillion	1	0.7%	34	$1,678	18	54.9%	49	$568,500	2
Colorado	$3.5 billion	20	$677.3 billion	11	0.5%	46	$1,597	24	65.9%	32	$394,600	4
Connecticut	$5.9 billion	13	$341.5 billion	23	1.7%	5	$3,112	3	65.0%	37	$280,700	16
Delaware	$473 million	46	$80.6 billion	45	0.6%	41	$923	43	70.3%	11	$261,700	17
Florida	$13.9 billion	6	$1.6 trillion	3	0.9%	26	$1,363	29	66.2%	28	$245,100	22
Georgia	$5.6 billion	16	$638.4 billion	13	0.9%	25	$1,193	33	64.1%	39	$202,500	27
Hawaii	$642 million	44	$209.9 billion	31	0.3%	50	$1,362	30	60.2%	47	$669,200	1
Idaho	$927 million	38	$143. billion	36	0.6%	35	$1,001	40	71.6%	6	$255,200	19
Illinois	$16.7 billion	5	$846.2 billion	7	2.0%	2	$2,286	8	66.0%	31	$209,100	25
Indiana	$2.8 billion	23	$342.6 billion	22	0.8%	30	$1,028	38	69.3%	13	$156,000	44
Iowa	$2.5 billion	25	$177. billion	33	1.4%	10	$1,698	14	70.5%	10	$158,900	42
Kansas	$2.0 billion	27	$152. billion	34	1.3%	15	$1,604	23	66.5%	26	$163,200	41
Kentucky	$1.7 billion	29	$219.8 billion	30	0.8%	31	$844	45	67.0%	22	$151,700	46
Louisiana	$1.3 billion	34	$246.6 billion	28	0.5%	48	$896	44	66.5%	25	$172,100	38
Maine	$1.2 billion	35	$101.3 billion	41	1.2%	16	$2,241	9	72.2%	2	$200,500	28
Maryland	$5.8 billion	14	$575.7 billion	16	1.0%	20	$1,691	17	66.8%	23	$332,500	9
Massachusetts	$9.1 billion	9	$834.6 billion	9	1.1%	18	$2,562	6	62.2%	43	$418,600	3
Michigan	$7.8 billion	10	$594.9 billion	15	1.3%	13	$1,464	28	71.6%	5	$169,600	39
Minnesota	$4.7 billion	18	$450.2 billion	18	1.1%	19	$1,639	21	71.9%	3	$246,700	21
Mississippi	$769 million	42	$122.7 billion	38	0.6%	37	$1,063	36	67.3%	19	$128,200	49
Missouri	$3.3 billion	21	$341.2 billion	24	1.0%	22	$1,070	35	67.1%	21	$168,000	40
Montana	$666 million	43	$90.3 billion	42	0.7%	33	$1,698	15	68.9%	14	$253,600	20
Nebraska	$1.6 billion	30	$105.4 billion	40	1.5%	7	$2,001	12	66.3%	27	$172,700	37
Nevada	$1.4 billion	33	$242.1 billion	29	0.6%	42	$1,026	39	56.6%	48	$317,800	11
New Hampshire	$2.2 billion	26	$118.6 billion	39	1.9%	3	$3,347	2	71.0%	7	$281,400	14
New Jersey	$18.1 billion	4	$848.5 billion	6	2.1%	1	$3,379	1	63.3%	40	$348,800	7
New Mexico	$854 million	40	$143.9 billion	35	0.6%	40	$831	46	68.1%	17	$180,900	35
New York	$25.5 billion	2	$2.0 trillion	2	1.3%	14	$3,037	4	53.5%	50	$338,700	8
North Carolina	$5.0 billion	17	$639.2 billion	12	0.8%	32	$983	41	65.3%	35	$193,200	31
North Dakota	$431 million	49	$48.9 billion	49	0.9%	24	$1,640	20	61.3%	46	$205,400	26
Ohio	$9.1 billion	8	$598.2 billion	14	1.5%	9	$1,355	31	66.0%	30	$157,200	43
Oklahoma	$1.5 billion	31	$183.2 billion	32	0.8%	29	$767	49	65.5%	33	$147,000	47
Oregon	$3.7 billion	19	$406.9 billion	20	0.9%	23	$1,544	27	62.9%	42	$354,600	6
Pennsylvania	$11.9 billion	7	$835. billion	8	1.4%	11	$1,584	25	68.4%	16	$192,600	32
Rhode Island	$1.2 billion	36	$85.2 billion	43	1.4%	12	$2,429	7	61.7%	45	$283,000	13
South Carolina	$1.7 billion	28	$329.6 billion	25	0.5%	44	$1,196	32	70.3%	12	$179,800	36
South Dakota	$573 million	45	$50.4 billion	47	1.1%	17	$1,575	26	67.8%	18	$185,000	34
Tennessee	$2.7 billion	24	$434.2 billion	19	0.6%	36	$793	47	66.5%	24	$191,900	33
Texas	$25.3 billion	3	$1,582.7 billion	4	1.6%	6	$1,948	13	61.9%	44	$200,400	29
Utah	$1.5 billion	32	$270.5 billion	26	0.6%	43	$1,052	37	70.6%	9	$330,300	10
Vermont	$864 million	39	$49.2 billion	48	1.8%	4	$2,740	5	70.9%	8	$233,200	24
Virginia	$6.4 billion	12	$767.5 billion	10	0.8%	28	$1,693	16	66.1%	29	$288,800	12
Washington	$7.4 billion	11	$886.2 billion	5	0.8%	27	$1,626	22	63.1%	41	$387,600	5
West Virginia	$435 million	48	$82. billion	44	0.5%	45	$956	42	73.4%	1	$124,600	50
Wisconsin	$5.7 billion	15	$375.5 billion	21	1.5%	8	$1,676	19	67.2%	20	$197,200	30
Wyoming	$261 million	50	$51.3 billion	46	0.5%	47	$2,008	11	71.9%	4	$235,200	23

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