Want low property taxes? Then head to these lower-cost cities

Property taxes up, but not everywhere

Properties taxes increased by 4 percent nationwide last year, but the upward trend wasn’t unilateral. In fact, according to new data, some cities saw property tax rates as low as 0.35 percent last year.

Cities with affordable tax rates

According to new data from ATTOM Data Solutions, homeowners in Laredo, Texas, had an effective property tax rate of just 0.35 percent last year. That’s nearly a third of the national average of 1.16 percent.

Other cities with low property tax rates included Honolulu (0.36 percent); Montgomery, Alabama (0.36 percent); Tuscaloosa, Alabama (0.39 percent); and Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Despite having one of the lowest effective rates in the country, homeowners in Honolulu still paid about $3,228 in property taxes last year — over six times more than those in Laredo. Laredo homeowners paid an average of $527 in property taxes in 2018.

Get property tax discounts using the Homestead Exemption

The nation’s highest-tax cities

Many cities weren’t so lucky, though. In Binghamton, New York, homeowners paid an effective property tax rate of 3.19 percent last year — the highest of all 219 metro areas ATTOM analyzed.

Nearby Syracuse and Rochester also saw high tax rates at 2.89 percent and 2.88 percent, respectively. Rockford, Illinois, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, rounded out the top five in terms of tax rates.

Are taxes included in debt-to-income calculations?

The highest tax bills, however, went to homeowners in Bridgeport, New York. There, owners paid a whopping $10,754 in property taxes last year. Owners in New York City paid the second-most, at $9,700 for the year, while those in San Jose, California, came in third, paying $8,496 annually.

In total, American homeowners paid $304.6 billion in property taxes in 2018 — up 11 billion from the year prior. The average homeowner paid $3,498 per property.

Get today’s mortgage rates

Are you considering buying a house in one of these lower property tax markets? Then shop around and see what mortgage rates you qualify for today.