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Highest bills · 2026
Most expensive property tax bills
The 30 counties in this almanac with the highest median annual property tax bills — measured in dollars, not rate. A high-rate state with cheap housing can rank below a low-rate state with expensive houses, which is why this list looks different from the rate rankings.
| # | County | State | Median annual bill | Effective rate | Median home value |
| 1 | Rockland (New City) | NY | $16,958 | 2.85% | $595,000 |
| 2 | Westchester (White Plains) | NY | $14,670 | 2.20% | $668,600 |
| 3 | Bergen (Hackensack) | NJ | $14,443 | 2.43% | $593,200 |
| 4 | Essex (Newark) | NJ | $14,337 | 3.39% | $423,500 |
| 5 | Nassau (Mineola) | NY | $12,415 | 2.05% | $605,600 |
| 6 | Marin (San Rafael) | CA | $11,745 | 0.81% | $1,450,000 |
| 7 | Union (Elizabeth) | NJ | $11,225 | 2.45% | $458,200 |
| 8 | Morris (Morristown) | NJ | $11,084 | 2.05% | $540,700 |
| 9 | Manhattan (Manhattan) | NY | $10,926 | 0.92% | $1,187,600 |
| 10 | Travis (Austin) | TX | $10,815 | 2.10% | $515,000 |
| 11 | Fairfield (Bridgeport) | CT | $10,638 | 1.85% | $575,000 |
| 12 | Suffolk (Riverhead) | NY | $10,560 | 2.10% | $502,800 |
| 13 | Santa Clara (San Jose) | CA | $10,100 | 0.65% | $1,555,600 |
| 14 | Monmouth (Freehold) | NJ | $10,000 | 1.48% | $674,100 |
| 15 | Hudson (Jersey City) | NJ | $9,752 | 1.69% | $577,400 |
| 16 | Merrimack (Concord) | NH | $9,433 | 2.45% | $385,000 |
| 17 | Middlesex (New Brunswick) | NJ | $9,427 | 2.25% | $419,100 |
| 18 | Passaic (Paterson) | NJ | $9,303 | 2.50% | $372,100 |
| 19 | Burlington (Mount Holly) | NJ | $9,180 | 2.55% | $360,000 |
| 20 | San Francisco (San Francisco) | CA | $9,100 | 0.65% | $1,400,000 |
| 21 | Chittenden (Burlington) | VT | $8,973 | 1.85% | $485,000 |
| 22 | Orange (Goshen) | NY | $8,943 | 2.45% | $365,000 |
| 23 | Rockingham (Brentwood) | NH | $8,913 | 1.55% | $575,000 |
| 24 | San Mateo (Redwood City) | CA | $8,800 | 0.55% | $1,600,000 |
| 25 | Alameda (Oakland) | CA | $8,725 | 0.80% | $1,090,600 |
| 26 | Lake (Waukegan) | IL | $8,510 | 2.70% | $315,000 |
| 27 | Mercer (Trenton) | NJ | $8,510 | 2.79% | $305,000 |
| 28 | Hillsborough (Manchester) | NH | $8,483 | 1.95% | $435,000 |
| 29 | Monterey (Salinas) | CA | $8,470 | 1.10% | $770,000 |
| 30 | DuPage (Wheaton) | IL | $8,320 | 2.22% | $375,000 |
What this ranking actually shows
This list combines two things: tax rate and home values. A 1% rate on a $1.5M home produces a bigger bill than a 2.5% rate on a $200K home. The counties at the top of this list tend to be either (a) high-rate states with median home values, like Cook County (Illinois, ~2.2% on $300K+ homes), or (b) low-rate states with extremely expensive housing, like Santa Clara County (California, ~0.65% on $1.5M+ homes).
If you're trying to estimate your bill on your specific home, the rate ranking is more useful than this one — your home value is your home value regardless of what the median is. But for comparing the actual financial impact of homeownership across markets, this is the cleaner view.
For the rate-only view, see the states-by-rate ranking.
About this site's data and estimates. The Property Tax Almanac is an independent editorial reference. It is not affiliated with any government agency, tax assessor, or tax preparation service. The calculators and data on this site are informational and are not a substitute for advice from a qualified tax professional, attorney, or your official county assessor or appraisal district.
Accuracy, sources, and scope. Tax rate data is compiled from publicly available sources — including the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, the Illinois Department of Revenue, the Florida Department of Revenue, the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, the Arizona Department of Revenue, the North Carolina Department of Revenue, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, the Michigan Department of Treasury, the Iowa Department of Revenue and Iowa Department of Management, the Minnesota Department of Revenue, the California State Board of Equalization, individual county appraisal and assessor offices, and the US Census Bureau — and is believed to be accurate as of the "revised" date shown on each page. Rates change annually (and sometimes mid-year) through local budget adoptions, legislative action, and voter-approved measures. Rates displayed reflect the primary tax district of the county seat; rates in other cities, school districts, Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), Emergency Services Districts (ESDs), Mello-Roos Community Facilities Districts (CFDs), and special taxing units within the same county may be meaningfully higher or lower. Census population figures are from the 2020 Decennial Census and are rounded to the nearest 100.
How to use these estimates. The calculator produces a rough estimate based on the county seat's combined rate, statutory deductions and exemptions available statewide, and the value you enter. Your actual bill depends on your specific parcel's assessed or appraised value, the exact taxing entities covering your address, any local-option exemptions you qualify for, any assessment caps or circuit-breaker protections (e.g., Florida's Save Our Homes, Arizona's Prop 117 LPV cap, Indiana's 1% circuit breaker, North Carolina's Elderly/Disabled Exclusion, Wisconsin's Lottery & Gaming Credit, Michigan's Proposal A 5%/IRM cap, Iowa's residential rollback, Minnesota's Homestead Market Value Exclusion, California's Proposition 13 acquisition-value system and 2% annual cap), and any appeal or protest outcomes. For an authoritative figure, consult your county appraisal district (Texas), county assessor (Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Arizona, North Carolina, Iowa, Minnesota, California), county property appraiser (Florida), or municipal/township assessor (Wisconsin and Michigan — assessments are set at the city/village/township level rather than the county level; some Iowa and Minnesota cities also have city-level assessors). The contact information for the primary authority in each county is listed at the top of that county's page.
No legal or tax advice; no warranty. Nothing on this site constitutes legal, tax, financial, investment, or real estate advice. The Property Tax Almanac, its authors, and its publisher make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability of the content on this site. Any reliance you place on the information is strictly at your own risk. We are not liable for any loss or damage — including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage — arising from the use of this site or from decisions made based on its content.
Found an error? Property tax rules are complex and change often. If you spot an inaccuracy, please contact us — corrections help every reader who comes after you.
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