Top 10 States With the Lowest Property Taxes

by Kiri Blakeley

Property taxes are surging due to increased home values and changes to local tax rates. The good news is that some states have significantly lower property taxes than others.

The median tax bill in the U.S. in 2024 was $3,500, up 2.8% from 2023, according to Realtor.com® data.

New Jersey, unsurprisingly, has the highest median property tax amount in the nation at an annual $9,413. Compared to that, the state with the lowest amount, West Virginia, is a downright steal at $728 per year.

"Tax growth varies widely state to state, including some states where tax burdens are outpacing home price growth and others where property taxes are falling even as homes appreciate in value," says Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner.

The most burdensome property tax states tend to be in the Northeast—where home prices are also higher, as are household incomes. Property taxes generally loosely correspond to the market value of the property, says Berner.

That's why the 10 states with the lowest median property taxes in dollar amounts all have median home list prices below the national median of $425,000 for September 2025, most under by quite a bit.

"Many Southern states have lower median home values compared to high-cost states. Because property tax burdens are a function of value X rate, a lower base value means even a moderate rate produces a lower absolute tax bill," explains Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.

It might seem like a no-brainer to move to a state with lower property taxes, but those taxes are collected to provide funding for essential public services like schools, health care, and transportation infrastructure.

"Property taxes support important municipal services, police, firefighters, schools, courts, libraries, parks and recreation, emergency response, the pound, roads, and maybe many more services people might not realize are funded, like senior services, municipal airports, public health, possibly water, sewer, and trash collection," Bruce Ailion, an agent with Re/Max Town and County in Atlanta, tells Realtor.com.

"I was surprised that my county stocks public access lakes for fishing, funds dog parks, and a field for radio-controlled plane and helicopter flight enthusiasts."

He notes that the areas with lower property taxes will have fewer services, and sometimes those services can be quite significant.

"Several years ago, our area was hit by an unusual hurricane. In the high-tax counties, the roads were cleared in two to three days," he says. "In the low-tax counties, it was three to four weeks before the streets were cleared. Is it any surprise the people who benefited from low taxes were complaining about inadequate services?"

But Jones says in more rural areas, services sometimes aren't needed.

"Lower population density and fewer high-cost urban centers can reduce pressure on local governments for large infrastructure, transit, and public service burdens, thereby reducing the tax burden needed," she explains.

Income tax-free

While nine states have done away with income tax, none has yet dispensed with property taxes, as it is still such an integral way for states to raise funds.

However, the growing unpopularity of soaring property taxes has meant more legislators are beginning to make noises about slashing them significantly, or even eliminating them.

Republican Pennsylvania state Rep. Russ Diamond told Fox News, "I want people to own their homes and not have to rent from the government, all across Pennsylvania."

And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has multiple times made clear he is no fan of property taxes.

"You buy a home, pay off a mortgage—and yet you still have to write a check to the government every year just to live on your own property?" he asked in his State of the State address, according to the outlet.

House Bill 201 was introduced in October and would eliminate nonschool property taxes for all homestead owners starting on Jan. 1, 2027.

In general, a "homestead" property in Florida is defined as a person's primary residence, one they must live in and own or have a primary interest in. If the bill succeeds, Florida will become the first state in the nation with no property taxes.