2016 U.S. Property Taxes Average $3,300 Per Household

If housing is the driver of the economy, then property taxes are apparently the driver of government.

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said property taxes levied on 84 million single-family homes in 2016 totaled $277.7 billion, an average of $3,296 per home and an effective tax rate of 1.15 percent.

The report also noted that owner-occupied properties had higher effective tax rates than investment properties. The average annual property tax for owner-occupied single family homes nationwide was $3,658, an effective tax rate of 1.21 percent. That was higher than the average annual property tax of $2,437 and effective tax rate of 1.03 percent on non-owner occupied (investment) homes.

The report analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide at the state, metro and county level along with estimated market values of single family homes calculated using an automated valuation model. The effective tax rate was the average annual property tax expressed as a percentage of the average estimated market value of homes in each geographic area.

States with the highest effective property tax rates were New Jersey (2.31 percent), Illinois (2.13 percent); Texas (2.06 percent); New Hampshire (2.03 percent); Vermont (2.02 percent); Connecticut (2.00 percent), Pennsylvania (1.89 percent), New York (1.88 percent), Ohio (1.68 percent) and Rhode Island (1.64 percent).

Among 217 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest effective property tax rates were Binghamton, N.Y. (3.10 percent); Rochester, N.Y. (2.99 percent); Rockford, Ill. (2.96 percent); Atlantic City, N.J. (2.77 percent); and Syracuse, N.Y. (2.67 percent).

States with the lowest effective property tax rates were Hawaii (0.32 percent); Alabama (0.48 percent); Colorado (0.52 percent); Tennessee (0.54 percent); Delaware (0.56 percent); West Virginia (0.57 percent); South Carolina (0.63 percent); Nevada (0.64 percent); Utah (0.65 percent); and Arkansas (0.67 percent).

Metro areas with the lowest effective property tax rates were Honolulu (0.32 percent); Montgomery, Ala. (0.35 percent); Tuscaloosa, Ala. (0.36 percent); Florence, S.C. (0.44 percent); and Colorado Springs, Colo. (0.44 percent).

Among 586 counties with a population of at least 100,000 and at least 10,000 single-family homes, nine posted average annual property taxes of more than $10,000: Westchester, Rockland, and Nassau counties in New York; Essex, Bergen, Union and Morris counties in New Jersey; Marin County, Calif.; and Fairfield County, Conn. ATTOM reported 32 counties with average annual property taxes of $7,000 or more.

The report also said the effective tax rate for investment homes was lower than the effective tax rate for owner-occupied homes in 34 states, including California, Texas, Ohio, Illinois and New York. States where the effective tax rate for investment homes was higher than the effective tax rate for owner-occupied homes included Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana and Arizona.

Investment property homeowners owed $51.4 billion in property taxes in 2016, accounting for 19 percent of the total property taxes owed nationwide, while the number of investment properties accounted for 26 percent of all single-family homes.