Your physical address might result in you paying significantly more in property taxes than someone else.

And as millions of Americans rush from one state to another, one thing you just have to keep in mind is property taxes.

That’s why in this post, we’re going to uncover the states with the worst property taxes in the country.

Read on as today we’re going to have some fun as we go through some of the states with the highest property taxes in the country.

So let’s begin!

Are Property Taxes a Bad Thing?

Not necessarily, property taxes fund everything around you – education, emergency services, and infrastructure.

The money that you pay for these taxes funds the services that your local government provides.

So in theory, states with high property taxes are better funded and have more money to reinvest into their economy.

But who likes paying taxes?

No one we know for sure.

While death and taxes are the only things certain in life, when and how much is not so certain.

It is also no guarantee that states with higher property taxes are actually run better than states with lower taxes.

In fact, if we’re looking at migration trends, the states with the lowest property tax rates are where most people are moving.

So we guess you don’t always get what you pay for after all, at least when it comes to taxes.

But let’s take a look at some of the states with the worst property taxes in the nation and see for ourselves. We’ll do this in a countdown way up to the state with the highest tax rates.

Top 10 Worst Property Taxes By States

10. Rhode Island

The top 10 on the list of states with the worst tax rates is Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States, but that’s not the case when it comes to its property taxes.

The island is only 48 miles tall and 37 miles wide, but its property taxes will run deep in your pockets.

The effective property tax rate is 1.63%.

So if you own a $260,000 home, you’d pay over $4,000 in property taxes.

9. New York

This should not come as any surprise to you because everything is expensive in New York, and so are its property taxes.

And this kind of makes sense. Even if their tax was the same everywhere, you would pay more taxes overall in New York simply because its home prices are so high.

But that’s not even the case.

Even though New York has one of the highest property values in the country, it also has one of the highest property tax rates.

The effective tax rate is 1.72%, and their median home value is over $50,000 more than Rhode Island.

So let’s move away from New York, literally, and move on to the next one.

8. Nebraska

We tried to find some fun facts about Nebraska, but we’ve got nothing other than the fact that Kool-Aid was invented there if you’re old enough to remember those days.

And its property tax rate is also not so fun. Nebraska’s property tax rates are even higher than New York’s, coming in at 1.73%.

So clearly, Nebraska isn’t trying to attract many people to the state.

But on the flip side, the median home value is about half of the value in New York.

The median home value in Nebraska is just around $155,000 and you’d only pay about $2,700 in taxes if you owned a home at this value.

So maybe the higher property tax is due to its very low home values.

7. Texas

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and so are its property taxes.

Texans pay 1.80%, on average in property taxes. That’s 3x the amount you’d pay in Tennessee.

Yet, millions of people are moving to Texas. So what’s going on?

Well, although Texas has one of the highest property taxes in the country, it has one of the lowest income taxes.

And by lowest, we mean next to nothing. Texans pay ZERO income taxes, which is apparently very attractive to billionaires with a lot of income like Elon Musk.

Speaking of low taxes, you also might want to read our post listing the tax-free states.

6. Wisconsin

About 5 million people live in Wisconsin, so that’s about 5 million people paying sky-high property taxes.

But Wisconsin is famous for its beer so maybe whoever came up with their property tax rate was drunk at the time.

People in Wisconsin pay 1.85% of their home values in property taxes. So if you owned a $180,000 home in Wisconsin, you’d pay almost $3,500 in property taxes.

5. Vermont

Outside of Olivia Pope and Fitz moving to Vermont in scandal, we don’t know too many people who live in Vermont.

It is actually the second smallest state in the country in terms of population size.

Seems like they want to keep it this way because its annual property taxes are scorching high at around 1.90%.

But if you love nature, mountains, land, and rural life, then maybe you’ll compromise paying higher property taxes because Vermont is drop-dead gorgeous.

4. Connecticut

Connecticut is widely known as one of the richest states in the nation, if not the richest.

Billionaires like Ray Dalio and Steve Cohen are amongst many that call Connecticut home.

And we’re sure Connecticut is happy to have them because they are collecting a whopping 2.14% on the value of their homes in property taxes.

The average citizen in Connecticut pays almost $6,000 in property taxes on a median home value of $275,000.

That’s over a month in take-home pay for most people.

So, let’s move on to the top 3 worst states to live in.

3. New Hampshire

New Hampshire has the 3rd highest property tax in the nation.

But we can’t say this is a bad thing.

Although this is the case, New Hampshire has the lowest poverty rate in the entire country.

Like we said earlier, taxes may not always be a bad thing. And we don’t get the impression that New Hampshire loves taxes either.

We say this because New Hampshire is one of the only states with no income taxes and no sales taxes.

So when considering everything, New Hampshire is a tax-friendly state. But you are going to pay your fair share when it comes to property taxes.

2. Illinois

Illinois has the 2nd highest property tax in the country, and no, it does not have a low poverty rate.

In fact, its poverty rate is average and its crime rate is atrocious. Illinois is ranked in the top 10 for the highest homicide rates in the whole country.

Yet, it has a 2.27% property tax rate. You’d think that these high property taxes might result in better schools and police, but this is not the case.

So you probably would not catch us buying property here.

And last but not least, the state with the highest property tax in the nation is…

1. New Jersey

New Jersey is just flat-out expensive.

Its effective property tax rate is 2.49%, which is not just the highest in the nation, but it is the highest by far.

And just like New York, its home prices are among the highest in the country.

So you’re kind of getting slapped twice – sky-high housing prices, property taxes, and that’s just the beginning of the story.

It also has higher than average income taxes and sales taxes.

It sounds to us that New Jersey should change its name to Tax Jersey.

But what do you think? Do you think these states are justified in having higher property taxes? Comment below and let us know!

Now, if you want to pay less on your taxes but don’t want to change your residence and move on to another state, working with our CPA tax experts is the solution!

We’ll help you find the best (and legal) ways to save on your taxes. Contact us now at 470-240-1437.