by Brett Rowland
Property taxes vary significantly across the U.S. with northeastern states imposing effective property tax rates ten times higher than in southern states.
That comes from a Washington D.C. group that noted some states are exploring property tax caps. The Committee to Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for free trade and limited government spending, found that the average single-family-home property tax in New Jersey hit $9,500 in 2022. That compares with the average of $928 in West Virginia and $1,022 in Alabama, according to a report from the group.
The states with the highest effective property tax rates in 2021 were New Jersey (2.26%), Illinois (2.07%), Connecticut (1.96%), New Hampshire (1.77%) and Vermont (1.73%).
The states with the highest taxes don’t always have the best government services, according to the report.
“New Jersey and Illinois have the highest property taxes and are very near the bottom in the quality of public services,” according to the report.
The states with the lowest effective property tax rates in 2021 were Hawaii (0.27%), Alabama (0.39%), Nevada (0.48%), Colorado (0.48%) and Idaho (0.49%).
Texas residents will vote in November on Proposition 4, which, if passed, would make permanent as part of the Texas constitution a $100,000 homestead exemption, create a three-year pilot program to implement a 20% appraisal cap on non-residential property valued below $5 million, and create three new elected positions for appraisal review boards in counties that have a population of above 75,000.
In Colorado, a taxpayer advocacy group is gathering signatures to put an initiative on Colorado’s 2024 ballot that would require voter approval for any statewide property tax revenue increases above 4% annually.
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Brett Rowland is an award-winning journalist who has worked as an editor and reporter in newsrooms in Illinois and Wisconsin. He is an investigative reporter for The Center Square.
