10 States With the Highest Property Taxes

Ever visited a new state and dreamed of buying a vacation home or even relocating there? Of course, before you actually consider making the move, it’s important to check out local property taxes. These taxes are essential for funding schools, roads, and other public projects, though the exact rates differ from state to state (and from county to county within each state). To find the states with the highest property taxes, we’re taking a look at the effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing in each state, based on a 2025 report from the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit research organization specializing in tax policy. (This figure is calculated by dividing total real taxes paid over the total home value.) Here are the 10 U.S. states with the highest effective property tax rates in 2025.

10. Wisconsin

Effective property tax rate: 1.25%

Wisconsin’s property tax rate of 1.25% is the 10th-highest in the nation. And while that may be the average rate throughout the state, some counties levy a significantly higher tax rate. The county with the highest rate is Menominee County — the quaint jurisdiction has a population of only 4,255 residents, but they pay a 3.64% effective rate. After that, there’s a considerable drop-off to No. 2, Milwaukee County (2.04%), followed by Dane County (home to the capital city of Madison) at 1.71%. According to additional estimates from the Tax Foundation, Wisconsinites pay $5,953 in annual property taxes per capita.

9. New York

Effective property tax rate: 1.26%

In terms of real dollars, New Yorkers pay the highest average property taxes per capita of any state, shelling out $12,685 each year. In fact, the state has six counties where the median property tax payments exceed $10,000: Nassau, New York, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester. Despite these high figures, on a statewide basis the Empire State ranks ninth in the nation when it comes to the average effective property tax rate. The New York county with the highest tax rates is Orleans County (3%), located in the Finger Lakes region of western New York.

8. Ohio

Effective property tax rate: 1.31%

Ohio’s effective property tax rate recently rose from 1.23% to 1.31%, landing the Buckeye State in the eighth spot on this list. In real dollars, Ohioans fork up about $5,741 in property taxes per person each year. Residents of Cuyahoga County — the home of major cities such as Cleveland, Parma, and Lakewood — are taxed at a 2.08% rate, which is the highest countywide rate in the state.

7. Texas

Effective property tax rate: 1.36%

They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes the 1.36% effective property tax rate that ranks as the seventh-highest in the U.S. This comes entirely in the form of tax rates set by local governments, as there’s no statewide property tax in Texas. The highest tax rate belongs to El Paso County, where the effective property tax rate is 2.09%. On a statewide average basis, Texans typically pay around $5,459 in property taxes each year.

6. New Hampshire

Effective property tax rate: 1.41%

With no income tax nor sales tax, New Hampshire relies quite heavily on property taxes to generate revenue, which helps explain why its effective tax rate is the sixth-highest in the country. The highest county rates can be found in Sullivan (2.38%), Cheshire (2.32%), Coos (2.07%), and Merrimack (2%). New Hampshire’s most populous county, Hillsborough, has an effective tax rate of 1.76%, the seventh-highest in the Granite State.

5. Vermont

Effective property tax rate: 1.42%

Despite Vermont’s small size, its residents end up paying an average of $8,158 per capita in annual property taxes, which is the eighth-highest total in the country in terms of real dollars. The highest tax rate in Vermont by individual county belongs to Windsor County — which is located in the eastern part of the state and includes the town of Woodstock — at 1.98%.

4. Nebraska

Effective property tax rate: 1.43%

Nebraska jumped from sixth place in the Tax Foundation’s 2024 rankings to the fourth-highest property taxes in 2025. The Cornhusker State’s effective rate increased from 1.32% to 1.43% year over year. Unlike other states on this list where there’s at least one individual county with a tax rate exceeding 2%, that’s not the case in Nebraska. The highest countywide tax rate is 1.79% in Sarpy County — a county that shares a border to the south with Douglas County, which is home to Omaha.

3. Connecticut

Effective property tax rate: 1.48%

Nutmeggers pony up $9,718 per person in property taxes per year — the third-highest figure in the country, behind New York and California. On a statewide level, the effective property tax rate of 1.48% for Connecticut also ranks third in the nation. These rates are particularly high in places such as the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, which levies a 2.15% property tax on residents. The Capitol Planning Region (home to the city of Hartford) imposes a 2.14% effective property tax rate.

2. New Jersey

Effective property tax rate: 1.77%

Much like in neighboring New York, there are a whopping eight counties in the Garden State where median annual property tax payments exceed $10,000: Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, and Union. New Jersey is also home to two counties — Camden County and Salem County — where the effective property tax rate is above 3%.

1. Illinois

Effective property tax rate: 1.83%

Illinois residents have the highest property tax rates in the U.S. This is especially true in Lake County — home to the Chicago suburbs of Highland Park, Lake Forest, and others — where the tax rate is 2.68%. Despite the high property tax rate in Illinois, in terms of real dollars, residents pay about $8,148 per capita each year, which ranks ninth in the nation.

Summary of States With the Highest Property Taxes