Effective property tax rates in US metro-area counties run from 0.15% in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana to 2.93% in Salem County, New Jersey, according to Census ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimates. The middle county pays 0.80% of its home’s value each year. In the Chicago metro, where the rate is 1.98%, the median $323,000 home carries a $6,401 yearly tax bill, or $533 a month on top of the mortgage. Look up any county in the cost-of-owning-a-home calculator.
What the effective rate measures
The effective rate is median real estate taxes paid (ACS table B25103) divided by median home value (ACS table B25077). It is not the statutory levy rate on a county’s rate schedule. That rate applies to assessed value, which in many states is set at a fraction of market value. The effective rate skips that step and compares what owners actually pay with what their homes are worth. Exemptions that typical owners receive are already reflected in what they pay.
MoveMath computes the rate at two levels:
- County (the cost-of-owning-a-home tool): 1,185 metro-area counties have both medians published. For 1,168 of them the median tax is a point estimate.
- Metro (budgets in the relocation planner and on metro pages): the metro’s median taxes ÷ median value. If the metro median is top-coded, the principal county’s rate is used instead (see below).
Highest effective property tax rates by county
ACS 2020–2024, counties in metro areas with a point estimate:
| County | Effective rate | Median taxes | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem County, NJ | 2.93% | $7,018 | $239,500 |
| Camden County, NJ | 2.83% | $8,134 | $287,100 |
| Orleans County, NY | 2.72% | $3,823 | $140,800 |
| Monroe County, NY (Rochester) | 2.63% | $5,616 | $213,700 |
| Gloucester County, NJ | 2.60% | $8,055 | $310,400 |
| Lake County, IL | 2.58% | $8,923 | $345,700 |
| Broome County, NY (Binghamton) | 2.52% | $3,902 | $154,900 |
| Wayne County, NY | 2.50% | $4,250 | $170,000 |
| Livingston County, NY | 2.45% | $4,286 | $174,600 |
| DeKalb County, IL | 2.45% | $5,974 | $243,600 |
Lowest effective property tax rates by county
| County | Effective rate | Median taxes | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Feliciana Parish, LA | 0.15% | $339 | $228,100 |
| Maui County, HI | 0.16% | $1,466 | $904,700 |
| Bibb County, AL | 0.20% | $298 | $145,700 |
| Gilpin County, CO | 0.23% | $1,310 | $573,900 |
| Walker County, AL | 0.26% | $356 | $135,900 |
| Elmore County, AL | 0.27% | $610 | $223,900 |
| Richland Parish, LA | 0.28% | $401 | $141,900 |
| Honolulu County, HI | 0.28% | $2,553 | $897,500 |
| Lawrence County, AL | 0.29% | $497 | $172,300 |
| Jefferson Davis Parish, LA | 0.29% | $442 | $150,800 |
Alabama, Louisiana and Hawaii fill most of the bottom of the list. Maui and Honolulu pair very low rates with home values near $900,000, so their dollar bills are not small.
Counties with “at least” rates (top-coded)
The ACS caps its published median real estate tax at “$10,000 or more.” For 17 metro-area counties the median hits that cap, so only a lower bound on the rate is known: $10,000 ÷ median home value.
| County | Rate at least | Median home value |
|---|---|---|
| Passaic County, NJ | 2.18% | $459,500 |
| Putnam County, NY | 2.12% | $471,300 |
| Hunterdon County, NJ | 1.93% | $517,200 |
| Essex County, NJ | 1.91% | $524,100 |
| Union County, NJ | 1.89% | $529,200 |
| Somerset County, NJ | 1.81% | $552,100 |
| Westchester County, NY | 1.51% | $663,200 |
| Nassau County, NY | 1.46% | $684,700 |
| New York County (Manhattan), NY | 0.92% | $1,090,500 |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 0.67% | $1,490,600 |
The other seven are Bergen, Monmouth and Morris counties in New Jersey, Rockland and Suffolk counties in New York, Falls Church City, Virginia, and Marin County, California. These counties are left out of the rankings above, and the calculator labels their rate “at least.”
The New York metro’s own median tax is also top-coded. A naive metro rate would be at least 1.63% ($10,000 ÷ $614,200). For New York budgets MoveMath instead uses its principal county, Kings County (Brooklyn): $6,382 ÷ $905,000 = 0.71%.
Key metros: the rate MoveMath’s budgets use
| Metro | Metro rate used in budgets | Median taxes | Median home value | Principal county rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL-IN | 1.98% | $6,401 | $323,000 | Cook 1.91% |
| Houston, TX | 1.61% | $4,810 | $298,000 | Harris 1.62% |
| Dallas, TX | 1.60% | $5,737 | $359,500 | Dallas 1.58% |
| Austin, TX | 1.54% | $7,140 | $465,000 | Travis 1.48% |
| Miami, FL | 0.86% | $3,823 | $443,300 | Miami-Dade 0.81% |
| Seattle, WA | 0.85% | $6,092 | $717,500 | King 0.83% |
| New York, NY-NJ | 0.71% (Kings County) | $10,000+ | $614,200 | Kings 0.71% |
| Los Angeles, CA | 0.67% | $5,854 | $871,300 | Los Angeles 0.68% |
| Denver, CO | 0.51% | $3,086 | $603,800 | Denver 0.45% |
| Nashville, TN | 0.50% | $2,060 | $409,600 | Davidson 0.60% |
| Phoenix, AZ | 0.44% | $1,947 | $440,900 | Maricopa 0.44% |
What this means for your monthly payment
MoveMath’s engine prices ownership for the standard couple used on metro pages: two adults, one toddler, $110,000 combined. They buy the metro’s ACS median home with 20% down at 6.5% for 30 years. Insurance is a $1,800-a-year placeholder because no official source publishes it.
| Metro | Home value | P&I / month | Property tax / month | P&I + tax + insurance | Monthly left over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL-IN | $323,000 | $1,633 | $533 | $2,317 | $1,425 |
| Nashville, TN | $409,600 | $2,071 | $172 | $2,393 | $2,279 |
| Austin, TX | $465,000 | $2,351 | $595 | $3,096 | $1,295 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $440,900 | $2,229 | $162 | $2,542 | $1,577 |
| Denver, CO | $603,800 | $3,053 | $257 | $3,460 | −$308 |
“Left over” is after 2026 taxes, center-based childcare (NDCP prices, CPI-adjusted), food, the EIA 2025 state-average electric bill, gasoline and the other-spending estimate. Nashville’s 0.50% rate adds $172 a month on a $409,600 home. Austin’s 1.54% adds $595 on a $465,000 home. See the full Chicago owner budget in the relocation budget planner.
Why rates differ so much
Who funds local services. Where counties, cities and school districts lean heavily on property tax, effective rates run higher. That is why New Jersey, upstate New York, northern Illinois and Texas dominate the high end.
Exemptions. Homestead, senior and veteran exemptions cut what owner-occupants pay, and the ACS median already reflects them. In Texas, school districts must exempt $140,000 of a residence homestead’s value (Texas Comptroller). The increase from $100,000 was approved in 2025, after most of the 2020–2024 survey period. A buyer’s bill today can differ from the median.
Assessment caps. Under California’s Proposition 13, a home’s assessed value generally can’t rise more than 2% a year while the owner keeps it, and it resets to market value on sale (California Board of Equalization). Long-time owners pull the county median down, so a recent buyer in Los Angeles County usually pays more than the 0.68% median rate implies.
How MoveMath computes property tax
effective rate = ACS median real estate taxes ÷ ACS median home value
Chicago metro: $6,401 ÷ $323,000 = 1.98%. The cost-of-owning-a-home calculator applies the county rate to any price you enter. Budgets apply the metro rate to the metro median value unless you enter a price. Top-coded counties get a labelled lower bound. Source: Census ACS 5-year 2020–2024, tables B25103 and B25077.
What to do before you buy
- Get the county’s current levy rates and the target home’s assessed value from the assessor’s site.
- Ask for the most recent tax bill on the home.
- Find out whether a sale triggers reassessment in that state. In capped states it usually does.
- Check which homestead exemption you would qualify for as an owner-occupant, and the filing deadline.
- Put your estimate into the cost-of-owning-a-home calculator to see the full monthly payment. Then compare against renting with rent vs buy after a move.