According to a 2022 study on property taxes by WalletHub , an average American single-family household has a median value of $217,500, and its residents spend about $2,471 on property taxes each year. In comparison, an equivalent average household in Texas would pay about $3,907, or over 58% more. The WalletHub study ranks Texas as the state with the 7th highest property tax rates out of 51 (including D.C.).
These numbers don’t reveal all the details, and multiple factors can affect the amount of property taxes owed by a Texas resident. Here’s everything you need to know about Texas property tax rates and how they compare to the rest of the country.
The Lone Star State’s average property tax rate is approximately 1.80%. In other words, if you own a house in Texas valued by a tax assessor at $350,000, your property tax rate is $6,300 a year.
According to the Texas Comptroller’s Office website , Texas has no state-level property tax. Only local taxing units (e.g., cities, counties, school districts) collect property taxes. The 1.80% figure is an average of the property tax rates imposed by the taxing units in the state.
Local governments in Texas calculate property taxes by using the property’s fair market value. Each county has a property appraisal district and a team of tax assessors who evaluate every taxable property’s value.
Once tax assessors have determined the value of a property, the taxpayer pays a property tax equivalent to a percentage of the property’s fair market value. So, if a property’s value rises, so do the property taxes.
A property may be within the jurisdiction of one or multiple local taxing entities (e.g., city, college district, hospital district, etc.), each with its own tax rate. A taxpayer’s annual tax rate is the combined total of the taxing units that have jurisdiction over the property’s address. The taxpayer’s annual tax bill details the final value and full breakdown of entities collecting property taxes.
For example, a property located within Dallas, TX, owes property taxes to the City of Dallas and Dallas County. If that property is located within the Dallas Independent School District, the taxpayer also owes additional taxes to the school district on top of the other local tax units.
If a taxpayer disagrees with the value assessed by a local tax appraiser, they may file a complaint with their local jurisdiction’s Appraisal Review Board (ARB) . Depending on their individual circumstances, a Texas homeowner may request a reassessment of their property’s value or apply for a property tax relief or exemption .
We will represent you or your business before the IRS in an event of an audit.
Each property owner’s situation varies depending on the rates levied by local taxing authorities . On average, a homeowner in Texas pays, on average, more property taxes than homeowners living in other states. This fact remains true even when counting states that do not levy personal income taxes on their residents.
According to the WalletHub property tax study, the state’s average residential property tax rate of 1.80% is the 7th highest in the nation. The only states with higher average rates are Wisconsin, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Illinois, and New Jersey.
Below is a list of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, ranked by effective property tax rates from highest to lowest.
Effective Property Tax Rate
New Hampshire (NH)
Rhode Island (RI)
South Dakota (SD)
North Dakota (ND)
North Carolina (NC)
West Virginia (WV)
South Carolina (SC)
District of Columbia (DC)
Despite its ranking as the 3rd most expensive state to live in , California’s effective property tax rate of 0.76% is lower than both Texas’ property tax rate of 1.80% and the national average property tax rate of 1.07%.
In California, property taxes are calculated ad valorem , based on your home’s value. California’s Proposition 13 states that to calculate your property tax, multiply the state tax rate by the tax assessed value of your property. Prop 13 limits property taxes to 1% of your home’s value and does not allow tax assessments to rise by more than 2% each year.
As in Texas, the real property tax rate will depend on your county and the price of your home. This is why if you live in a home with a high estimated property value, you may end up paying more property taxes overall than those with lower-value homes, despite having lower tax rates in your county.
For example, San Francisco’s residents pay a median annual real property tax of $6,019 and an average effective real property tax rate of 0.65%. Those in Sierra county pay a lesser median annual real property tax of $1,496 but at a higher effective tax rate of 0.95%.
California Total Tax Burden
Your total tax burden is the sum of your property tax, individual income tax, and total sales & excise tax. A recent WalletHub study ranked each state from highest total tax burden (12.75% in New York) to lowest (5.06% in Alaska).
Texas ranks 32nd on the list, with a total tax burden of 8.22%. Since Texas has no individual income tax, the tax burden is split between the property tax burden (3.97%) and the sales tax burden (4.25%).
California ranks 9th, with a higher total tax burden of 9.72%. California does have an income tax, so the total tax burden is split three ways, between property tax (2.76%), income tax (3.80%), and sales tax (3.16%). This is why you pay a lower property tax rate in California than in Texas but still face a higher tax burden overall.
Florida’s effective real estate tax of 0.89% is lower than Texas’ rate and the national average rate. Like Texas, Florida does not have an individual income tax.
On average, Floridians pay $1,914 in annual taxes on a home priced at the state’s median value of $215,300. Texans pay an average of $3,099 in annual taxes on a home priced at the state’s median value, $172,500. The average home price is higher in Florida than in Texas, but since Florida’s effective property tax is so low, you end up paying lower property taxes.
The amount Florida homeowners pay in real property tax varies between counties. For example, if you live in St. Johns County, one of the more affluent counties in Florida, you pay an average effective property tax rate of 0.88% and $1,885 on average in property tax payments. If you live in the landlocked county of DeSoto, a lower income area, you only pay an average of $1,014 in property taxes despite a higher effective rate of 1.21%.
Florida Total Tax Burden
Floridians face one of the lowest total tax burdens in the country (6.64%), with only 5 states boasting lower tax burdens . Florida does not have an individual income tax, so your total tax burden only includes the property tax burden (2.77%) and sales tax burden (3.87%). Despite not having an individual income tax, Texas’ total tax burden is much higher (8.22%) than Florida’s. Both its property tax burden (3.97%) and sales tax burden (4.25%) are higher than rates in Florida.
Although New Yorkers face a higher-than-average effective property tax rate of 1.72% , the rate is still lower than Texas’ property tax rate of 1.80%. Unlike Texas, New York has no personal property tax . Instead of taxing items like vehicles (including mobile homes), New York only taxes real estate property.
Like Texas, Florida, and California, New York is home to a diverse range of inhabitants with differing incomes, which is considered when each county determines its property taxes. For example, affluent Westchester County collects the highest property tax, levying $9,003 on average in yearly property taxes , while St. Lawrence County only collects $1,674 on average in yearly property taxes.
New York Total Tax Burden
New Yorkers face the highest overall tax burden, paying 4.43% in property taxes, 4.90% in income taxes, and 3.42% in sales taxes, for a total tax burden of 12.75%. Texans face lower tax burdens than New Yorkers in every area except for sales tax; Texans face a marginally higher sales tax burden of 4.25% because they do not pay income tax.
