According to ATTOM’s 2021 Property Tax Analysis, the average tax on single-family homes in the U.S. in 2021 increased at the smallest pace in the five years, rising 1.8 percent from $3,719 in 2020 to $3,785 last year. The report noted the latest figures resulted in an effective tax rate of 0.9 percent, down from 1.1 percent in 2020.
ATTOM’s latest property tax analysis reported those states with the highest effective property tax rates in 2021 included Illinois (1.86 percent), New Jersey (1.73 percent), Connecticut (1.67 percent), Vermont (1.55 percent) and Pennsylvania (1.37 percent). The report noted that other states in the top 10 for highest effective property tax rates included Nebraska (1.36 percent), New Hampshire (1.35 percent), New York (1.35 percent), Texas (1.31 percent) and Iowa (1.31 percent).
ATTOM’s most recent property tax analysis also noted the lowest effective tax rates in 2021 were in Hawaii (0.27 percent), Alabama (0.37 percent), Utah (0.39 percent), Arizona (0.41 percent) and Nevada (0.41 percent). The report mentioned that other states in the top 10 for lowest effective property tax rates last year included Idaho (0.43 percent), Colorado (0.43 percent), Tennessee (0.45 percent), West Virginia (0.5 percent) and South Carolina (0.5 percent).
Also according to ATTOM’s 2021 property tax report, among 220 metro areas around the country with a population of at least 200,000 in 2021, 19 of the 20 highest effective tax rates were in the Northeast and Midwest, while nine of the top 10 were New York, Connecticut and Illinois.
The report stated those metro areas with the highest effective property tax rates in 2021 included Rochester, NY (2.22 percent); Rockford, IL (2.16 percent); Syracuse, NY (2.16 percent); Binghamton, NY (2.1 percent) and Trenton, NJ (2.07 percent). The analysis found that aside from Rochester, the highest rates among those metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2021 were in Hartford, CT (1.98 percent); Chicago, IL (1.84 percent); Philadelphia, PA (1.6 percent) and Cleveland, OH (1.56 percent).
The lowest effective rates among those major metros in 2021 were in Honolulu, HI (0.25 percent); Daphne-Fairhope, AL (0.27 percent); Montgomery, AL (0.31 percent); Tuscaloosa, AL (0.35 percent) and Prescott, AZ (0.35 percent). According to the report, the lowest rates among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2021 were in Phoenix, AZ (0.38 percent); Nashville TN (0.41 percent); Las Vegas, NV (0.41 percent); Salt Lake City, UT (0.42 percent) and Denver, CO (0.48 percent).
In this post, we take a deeper dive into the data behind ATTOM’s 2021 property tax analysis to uncover the top 10 U.S. counties with the lowest effective property tax rates, among those counties with 10,000 or more single family homes in 2021 and sufficient data. Those top 10 counties include: Greene County, PA (0.04 percent); Warren County, VA (0.06 percent); Blair County, PA (0.09 percent); Angelina County, TX (0.12 percent); Susquehanna County, PA (0.13 percent); Montgomery County, KS (0.15 percent); Iron County, MI (0.15 percent); Tallapoosa County, AL (0.16% percent); Grant County, NM (0.18 percent); and Cullman County, AL (0.19 percent).
The 2021 property tax analysis also reported that New Jersey’s average single-family-home tax of $9,476 in 2021 again led the nation, at roughly 10 times more than the average of $901 in West Virginia – the nation’s smallest average levy. According to the report, other states in the top five last year were Connecticut ($7,464), Massachusetts ($6,777), New Hampshire ($6,698) and New York ($6,617). Those in the bottom five included Alabama ($905), Arkansas ($1,195), Mississippi ($1,243) and Louisiana ($1,248).
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