NYC Dwellings Are Subject to the Highest Property Taxes in the Nation

An annual property tax analysis by ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database and first property data provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), shows that single-family houses in New York City and its suburbs paid an overall average of $9,700 in 2018.

That was the highest among totals in metropolitan areas nationwide with populations of 2 million or more. San Francisco and Boston came in second and third, respectively

Westchester County, which boasts big-ticket towns like Scarsdale and Bronxville, led the way, with an average bill of $17,392. In 2017, that number was lower, at $17,179, but still above the new $10,000 limit on federal deductions for state and local levies. Following it, said ATTOM, were nearby Rockland County ($12,925) and Marin County in Northern California ($12,242).

Among the more than 87 million U.S. single family homes taken into account, property taxes levied on single family homes in 2018 totaled $304.6 billion, up 4 percent from $293.4 billion in 2017 and an average of $3,498 per home — an effective tax rate of 1.16 percent, according to ATTOM.

States with the highest effective property tax rates were New Jersey (2.25 percent), Illinois (2.22 percent), Texas (2.18 percent), Vermont (2.16 percent), and Connecticut (2.02 percent), ATTOM noted. Other states in the top 10 for highest effective property tax rates were New Hampshire (1.99 percent), New York (1.86 percent), Pennsylvania (1.79 percent), Ohio (1.69 percent), and Wisconsin (1.58 percent).

“Property taxes levied on homeowners rose again in 2018 across most of the country,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer for ATTOM Data Solutions. “While many states across the country have imposed caps on how much taxes can go up, which probably contributed to a slower increase in 2018 versus 2017. There are still many factors at play that can contribute to local property tax hikes, and without major changes in the way a community runs public services, tax rates must rise to pay for them.”

Among 219 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest effective property tax rates were Binghamton, New York (3.19 percent); Syracuse, New York (2.89 percent); Rochester, New York (2.88 percent); Rockford, Illinois (2.83 percent); and Atlantic City, New Jersey (2.74 percent).

Among 1,408 U.S. counties with at least 10,000 single family homes, those with the highest average property taxes on single-family homes were largely located in the greater New York metro area, led by Westchester County, New York ($17,392); Rockland County, New York ($12,925); Marin County, California ($12,242); Essex County, New Jersey ($12,161); and Bergen County, New Jersey ($11,771).