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These 20 Places Have the Lowest Property Taxes in the Country
By Pete Grieve MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Nationwide, the average household’s property taxes in 2022 were $1,815. Residents in these places paid under $300.
In some parts of the United States, the typical homeowner pays over $10,000 per year in property taxes — but there are just as many places where the median tax bill is under $300 annually.
Property taxes are charged at the local and state level, but local property taxes tend to be higher as they fund schools, police departments and other agencies. Therefore, the places in the U.S. with the lowest median property tax bills tend to be counties with a combination of low local tax rates and lower home values.
Lower property taxes levied by a state government can also help minimize a resident’s property tax bill, but there are some counties that rank in the top 20 for lowest property taxes despite being in states with above-average state-level taxes.
For example, residents of several counties in Alaska pay less than $200 in property taxes per year even though the state had the 16th highest effective property tax rate (1.07%) in 2022, according to a new report from the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit.
Nationwide, the average household’s property taxes in 2022 were $1,815. According to a separate report, property taxes increased roughly 26% from 2019 to 2023, largely due to rising home values.
Some homeowners pay little in property taxes
Ultra-low property taxes can offer a nice break for homeowners, but if a local government lacks funding it may struggle to perform all its functions at a high level.
“While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, it’s worth noting that property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: The people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services,” the Tax Foundation wrote in its report.
For instance, homeowners in an area with higher property taxes might tolerate the expense if it results in well-funded public schools.
On the other hand, government waste or municipal debt can also drive up property taxes, which is something homeowners may want to consider when they’re choosing where to live.
U.S. counties with the lowest property taxes
The counties that rank among the lowest for property taxes come from just five states: Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, North Dakota and West Virginia. Many of the counties are rural, and many of them have lower home values and lower median household incomes than other places do. All have median property tax bills under $300.
Here are the 20 counties with the lowest property taxes, according to the Tax Foundation:
- Copper River Census Area, Alaska
- Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska
- Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska
- Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana
- East Carroll Parish, Louisiana
- West Carroll Parish, Louisiana
- Madison Parish, Louisiana
- Choctaw County, Alabama
- Bienville Parish, Louisiana
- Allen Parish, Louisiana
- Lamar County, Alabama
- Tensas Parish, Louisiana
- Catahoula Parish, Louisiana
- Perry County, Alabama
- Wilcox County, Alabama
- Sioux County, North Dakota
- McDowell County, West Virginia
- Sumter County, Alabama
- Coosa County, Alabama
- East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
More from Money:
The 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S.
Why States With No Income Tax Aren’t as Affordable as They Seem
Property Taxes Too High? Here’s How to Lower Your Bill
Pete Grieve is a New York-based reporter who covers personal finance news. At Money, Pete covers trending stories that affect Americans’ wallets on topics including car buying, insurance, housing, credit cards, retirement and taxes. He studied political science and photography at the University of Chicago, where he was editor-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon. Pete began his career as a professional journalist in 2019. Prior to joining Money, he was a health reporter for Spectrum News in Ohio, where he wrote digital stories and appeared on TV to provide coverage to a statewide audience. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Sun-Times and CNN Politics. Pete received extensive journalism training through Report for America, a nonprofit organization that places reporters in newsrooms to cover underreported issues and communities, and he attended the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in 2021. Pete has discussed his reporting in interviews with outlets including the Columbia Journalism Review and WBEZ (Chicago's NPR station). He’s been a panelist at the Chicago Headline Club’s FOIA Fest and he received the Institute on Political Journalism’s $2,500 Award for Excellence in Collegiate Reporting in 2017. An essay he wrote for Grey City magazine was published in a 2020 book, Remembering J. Z. Smith: A Career and its Consequence.