Property Tax by State Calculator
Estimate your annual property tax using your state's average rate or your own.
Details
What it would sell for today
Average 1.68%
Annual property tax
$6,720
Effective rate
1.68%
State rank
#8 of 51
At the U.S. average (0.9%)
$3,600
Above average by
$3,120
Tax year: 2026 · Last updated: January 2026
This estimates your annual property tax from the home's value and your local rate, including the assessment ratio and any exemptions.
It returns the yearly and monthly figures, which is the number that actually lands in your mortgage escrow.
How property tax is worked out
Property tax is charged yearly by local government on the value of your home and land. It funds schools, roads, police and fire services, which is why rates vary so much between areas.
The calculation is a rate applied to a value, but neither is quite what you would expect. Many states tax an *assessed* value that is deliberately lower than market value, and exemptions come off before the rate is applied.
Rates are often quoted in mills rather than percentages. One mill is one dollar per thousand of value, so 11 mills is the same as 1.1%.
Applying the rate straight to market value would give $4,400. The assessment ratio is worth $880 a year here, and it is the step people most often miss.
What to enter
- Home value
- Market value, or the assessor's value if you have the notice to hand. Those two are frequently different.
- Tax rate
- As a percentage or in mills. Your county assessor publishes it, and it usually combines several separate levies.
- State
- Loads a typical rate for that state as a starting point. Local rates vary within every state, so treat it as an estimate.
- Assessment ratio
- The share of market value that is actually taxed. Some states use 100%, others far less.
- Exemptions
- Deducted from the assessed value before the rate applies. Homestead, senior, veteran and disability exemptions are the common ones.
What this assumes
Rates and assessments are set locally and change annually. This is an estimate, not a bill.
Special assessments for schools, drainage or improvement districts may be added separately in some areas.
How to calculate your property tax
Assess, subtract exemptions, then apply the rate. Skipping the middle steps overstates the bill.
- assessment ratio
- The share of value your state actually taxes
- exemptions
- Deducted from the assessed value, not from the tax
Find the assessed value. Market value times the assessment ratio. In many states this is well below what the house would sell for.
Subtract any exemptions. A homestead exemption comes off the assessed value before the rate is applied, which is why it is worth more than it first appears.
Apply the rate. Convert mills to a percentage first if needed: divide by 10, so 11 mills is 1.1%.
Divide by 12 for the monthly figure. This is what gets collected through escrow alongside your mortgage payment.
See a worked example: the same house with and without the assessment ratio
- Market value
- $400,000
- Rate
- 1.1%
- Assessment ratio
- 80%
Applying the rate to market value: $400,000 × 1.1% = $4,400 a year.
But only 80% is assessed: $400,000 × 0.80 = $320,000.
Tax on the assessed value: $320,000 × 1.1% = $3,520.
That is $293 a month rather than $367. Checking your assessment ratio is worth doing before budgeting.
$3,520 a year, or $293 a month
Frequently asked questions
A mill is one dollar of tax per thousand dollars of value, so 11 mills is 1.1% and 25 mills is 2.5%.
To convert, divide the mill rate by 10 to get a percentage. Many counties quote mills because the total is assembled from several separate levies.
Many states deliberately assess at a fraction of market value. The rate is then set higher to compensate, so the tax collected works out the same.
It also means comparing tax rates between states is misleading. A 2% rate on 50% of value costs the same as 1% on the full value.
A reduction for a property that is your primary residence. It comes off the assessed value before the rate is applied.
A $50,000 homestead exemption at a 1.1% rate saves $550 a year. Many states require you to apply for it, and plenty of homeowners never do.
Because only the loan part of your payment is fixed. Property tax is collected through escrow and reassessed regularly, so it moves independently.
Reassessment after a sale is the sharpest version: many counties re-value a property when it changes hands, so the tax the previous owner paid may not be the tax you will pay.
Yes, and it is often worth doing. Every jurisdiction has an appeals process, usually with a short window after assessment notices go out.
The strongest case is comparable sales showing your assessed value is too high, or a factual error on the record such as the wrong square footage or bedroom count.
Problems people actually run into
Budgeting from the previous owner's tax bill
Listings often show the current owner's property tax, which may reflect an old assessment and exemptions that do not transfer to you.
Many counties reassess at sale, so a long-held home can carry a tax bill far below what a new buyer will pay. Ask the assessor what the property would be taxed at after a sale, not what it is taxed at now.
Comparing raw tax rates between states
A state with a 2.2% rate is not necessarily more expensive than one with 1.1%, because they may assess very different shares of market value.
The only fair comparison is the effective rate: actual tax paid divided by actual market value. That is the figure to compare when weighing up locations.
Results are estimates for general information only and are not professional financial, medical, or legal advice. Read our full disclaimer.
Last updated: September 4, 2026