$323 billion in property taxes were levied on single-family homes in 2020, an increase of 5.4% from the $306.4 billion levied in 2019. This brings the average tax on single-family homes to $3,719 in the United States, which translates to an effective tax rate of 1.1%. This is according to a new report released by ATTOM Data Solutions.
“The average property tax of $3,719 for a single-family home in 2020 was up 4.4% from $3,561 in 2019 while the effective property tax rate of 1.1% in 2020 was down slightly from 1.14% in 2019,” the report reads.
The states which posted the highest property tax rates in 2020 were New Jersey (2.2%), Illinois (2.18%), Texas (2.15%), Vermont (1.97%) and Connecticut (1.92%), according to the report, maintaining their positions from the 2019 report. Rounding out the top 10 for highest property taxes in 2020 are New Hampshire (1.86%), New York (1.68%), Pennsylvania (1.64%), Ohio (1.62%) and Nebraska (1.53%).
The methodology for making the report’s final determinations came from public data sources collated by ATTOM.
“The report analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide at the state, metro and county levels along with estimated market values of single-family homes calculated using an automated valuation model (AVM),” the report details. “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.”
The states with the lowest property tax rates in the country last year according to the data are Hawaii (0.37%), Alabama (0.44%), West Virginia (0.51%), Colorado (0.54%) and Utah (0.54%), respectively.
“Homeowners across the United States in 2020 got hit with the largest average property tax hike in the last four years, a sign that the cost of running local governments and public school systems rose well past the rate of inflation. The increase was twice what it was in 2019,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer for ATTOM Data Solutions in a statement announcing the results. “Fortunately for recent home buyers, they have mortgages with super-low interest rates that somewhat contain the cost of home ownership. But the latest tax numbers speak loud and clear about the continuing pressure on both recent and longtime homeowners to support the rising cost of public services.”
Property taxes are among the regular costs that reverse mortgage borrowers must keep up with and pay in a timely manner in order to ensure that their loan remains in good standing.
The application of property taxes in different states varies wildly, as evidenced by the difference between the state with the highest level of property taxes in the country versus the state with the lowest level.
“New Jersey had the highest average property tax on single-family homes, $9,196,” the report’s results read. “That was more than 10 times over than the average tax of $841 in Alabama, the state with the lowest average levy.”
Read the results at ATTOM Data Solutions.
