US Property Taxes Jump 30 Percent Nationwide Since 2019: Report

A home available for sale in Austin, Texas, on May 22, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Property taxes have risen over the past five years in major metropolitan areas across the United States, with Florida accounting for three of the top five metro areas that had the largest percentage increases, according to real estate brokerage Redfin.

“Nationwide, property taxes, in dollars, have increased nearly 30 percent since 2019 to a monthly median of $250,” said an Oct. 28 statement from Redfin. Out of the 50 most populous metros, 48 have seen monthly tax bills rise during this period. Taxes declined in only two metros: Las Vegas, Nevada, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. New York and New Jersey had the highest tax bills.

Nassau County, in New York State, had the highest median monthly property taxes in dollar terms, at $905. This was followed by Newark, New Jersey, at $848; New York at $821; San Jose, California, at $782; and New Brunswick, New Jersey, at $706.

The typical New Yorker was estimated to spend 10 percent of their monthly income on property taxes, the highest among all metros.

These taxes made up 8 percent of a typical homeowner’s housing bill nationwide. In Austin, the taxes accounted for 20 percent of the median housing bill—the highest in the country.

According to Redfin, the “silver lining” to higher property taxes is that the funds are reportedly used to improve parks and schools, making neighborhoods more appealing and thus raising property values.

Nationwide, property taxes on single-family homes rose by nearly 7 percent last year, according to a report by real estate data curator ATTOM that analyzed 89.4 million homes.

“Property taxes took an unusually high turn upward last year, pushing effective rates up, while huge gaps in average tax bills between different parts of country remained in place,” said ATTOM CEO Rob Barber.

“The tax increases were likely connected, at least in part, to inflationary pressures on the cost of operating local governments and schools, along with rising public employee wages and other major expenses.”

Florida Tax Surge

According to Redfin, out of the top five major U.S. metros where property tax bills have increased the most since the pandemic in percentage terms, Florida accounts for three: Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami.

In Jacksonville, median monthly property taxes have risen by 59.6 percent since 2019, to $228. In Tampa, tax rates have jumped by more than 56 percent, with monthly payments at $250. Miami saw an over 48 percent increase, with homeowners paying $367 in property taxes each month.

Rising home value is one of the reasons why property taxes in the state have surged over the last five years, Redfin noted. In fact, home values in Florida have “skyrocketed” during this period, partly due to the pandemic home buying boost.

Florida’s rising population is another factor that has resulted in higher demand for government services like roads and schools, which forces localities to raise taxes. Inflation is also a contributor.

Rising property taxes and insurance costs are posing challenges to homebuyers in Florida, according to a report by the Florida Housing Coalition.

While elevated home prices are already pressuring prospective buyers, higher property taxes can push up the monthly mortgage payment beyond their affordability limits, the group noted.

“Many Floridians have seen their insurance premiums increase by more than 40 percent in recent years, with some reports indicating a rise of over 102 percent in just the past three years,” the report said.

“While Florida’s legislature has passed a total of five pieces of legislation from 2019 through 2023 to address causes for these rising costs, and some optimistic trends have been shown, it will take some time for the full effect of these reforms to realize in the insurance market.”

Earlier this year, the “Property Tax System Study” bill was introduced in the Florida Senate, which sought to tackle the issue of these taxes.

The bill proposed that the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability conduct a study about the potential impact of “eliminating all property tax.” The lost revenues would be replaced by instituting a consumption tax. However, the bill did not pass the state Senate.