Homeowners saw their bills of real estate tax rise by 2.7% last year
The average effective tax rate – defined as the average tax as a percentage of the estimated market value of the property – fell slightly to 0.86%in 2024. This reflects a rebound in real estate values after a rare decrease in the previous year.
Rising values, modest tax growth
The national average home value rose to $ 486,456 in 2024, an increase of 4.8% on an annual basis. That followed a dip of 1.7% in 2023, the first such decrease in several years.
Although higher values often express concerns about larger tax accounts, Attom CEO Rob Barber warned that the relationship is not always direct.
“Although rising housing values can influence the property tax, they do not automatically lead to higher accounts for homeowners,” he said in the report. “In many areas we have seen taxes increase, not only because of the valuation of real estate, but also because of the growing costs to exploit local authorities and schools or shifts in the way in which tax pressure is distributed.”
Regional gaps continue to exist
The northeast and midwest continued to wear the heaviest effective tax burden.
Illinois was again at the top of the nation with a rate of 1.87%, followed by New Jersey (1.59%), Connecticut (1.48%), Nebraska (1.32%) and Ohio (1.31%).
The lowest percentages, on the other hand, were concentrated in the south and west. Hawaii led with an average percentage of 0.33%, followed by Idaho, Arizona and Alabama (each at 0.41%) and Delaware (0.43%).
When measured in dollars, however, the tax accounts were highest in the northeast, where both home values and rates tend to run high.
Homeowners from New Jersey paid an average of $ 10,135 in 2024 – the highest amount in the country and almost 10 times the average of $ 1,027 in West Virginia, the state at the bottom of the list.
Other states with high average accounts were Connecticut ($ 8,402), New Hampshire ($ 7,723) and Massachusetts ($ 7,720). States with the lowest averages, after West Virginia, were Alabama ($ 1,200) and Arkansas ($ 1,397).
Trends at metro level
Under metro lines with the population of 200,000 or more, the Midwest accounted for 16 of the 25 highest effective tax rates.
Rockford, Illinois, led all subways at 2.06%, followed by Chicago (1.91%); Peoria, Illinois (1.89%); and Trenton, New Jersey (1.88%).
On the other hand, the lowest rates were found in Salisbury, Maryland (0.29%) and various southern subways – including Johnson City and Knoxville, Tennessee (0.33%) and Tuscaloosa, Alabama (0.33%).
Under subways with populations of at least 1 million, Raleigh, North Carolina saw the biggest jump in average tax accounts during the year at 21.1%. Honolulu, Hawaii, had an increase of 17.2%, with New Orleans by 16%. Conversely, Charlotte (-7.3%) and Atlanta (-6.4%) saw the largest drops.
