How Does Iowa’s Real Estate Tax Bill Compare?

National Average is 3% of Median Income

Mortgage rates may be a function of free markets, but real estate taxes are a function of government. And, depending on where you live, your annual real estate tax bill could be high, low, or practically non-existent. It just depends on where you live!

Compiling data from the 2009 American Community Survey, the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan educational organization in Washington D.C., published property taxes paid by owner-occupied households, county-by-county.

The report shows huge disparity in annual property taxes by region, and by state. It’s really rather interesting.

As a percentage of home valuation, Southeast homeowners tend to pay the fewest property taxes overall, while Northeast homeowners tend to pay the most. But statistics like that aren’t especially helpful. What’s more useful is to know how local real estate taxes stack up as compared to local, median household incomes.

Not surprisingly, real estate taxes are least affordable to homeowners in the New York Metro area. The 10 U.S. counties with the highest tax-to-income ratios physically surround New York City’s 5 boroughs. The areas with the lowest tax-to-income, by contrast, are predominantly in southern Louisiana.

Here’s a Quick Look Around the Country:

#1 : Passaic County (NJ) : 9.7% of median income
#6 : Nassau County (NY) : 8.6% of median income
#15 : Lake County (IL) : 7.2% of median income
#18 : Cheshire County (NH) : 7.1% of median income
#70 : Travis County (TX) : 5.0% of median income
#90 : Marin County (CA) : 4.6% of median income
#110 : Middlesex County (MA) : 4.4% of median income
#181 : Sarasota County (FL) : 3.9% of median income
#255: Polk County (IA): 3.5% of median income
#481 : Douglas County (CO) : 2.4% of median income
#716 : Maui County (HI) : 1.3% of median income

The U.S. national average is 3.0 percent.

The complete, sortable list of U.S. counties is available at the Tax Foundation website. For specific tax information in your neighborhood or block, talk with a real estate agent. If you’re not sure who to talk to, reach out to me through email (listed on the right) and we can start the conversation that way.