Property tax by ZIP code in Illinois
Enter an Illinois ZIP and see the median property tax paid, median home value, and effective tax rate from the 2020–2024 American Community Survey — plus how it compares to the Illinois state median.
Look up an Illinois ZIP code
Enter a 5-digit Illinois ZIP code above to see its property tax data.
ZIP doesn't have ACS data — typically because it's a PO-box-only ZIP, a single-business ZIP, or a small area where the Census suppresses small-sample estimates. Try a nearby ZIP.
ZIP isn't an Illinois ZIP code. This page covers Illinois only. Other states are launching state by state — check back, or use our state-by-state median page in the meantime.
Illinois property tax is levied entirely by local governments — the state collects none of it — and Illinois has more local taxing bodies than any other state, which is a big reason its effective rates run among the highest in the nation. At a state median effective rate of about 2.01% (more than double the US median), Illinois consistently ranks at or near the top. Outside Cook County, property is assessed at one-third (33⅓%) of fair market value; Cook County classifies property and assesses residential homes at 10%.
Enter a 5-digit Illinois ZIP to see its median property tax, median home value, and effective rate from the US Census American Community Survey 2020–2024 vintage, plus how the ZIP compares to the Illinois state and US national medians. The explainer below covers the exemptions, the arrears billing cycle, and the methodology behind the comparison rates.
How Illinois property tax works
Property is valued by township or county assessors (and the Chief County Assessment Officer), then taxed by an unusually large number of local bodies — counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special districts. Illinois has the most local governments of any state, which stacks rates higher than almost anywhere. Outside Cook County, the assessed value is one-third of fair market value; Cook County classifies property and assesses residential homes at 10% of market value.
Illinois bills taxes a year in arrears: the assessment as of January 1 of one year produces the bill you pay the following year. The main homeowner exemptions (amounts shown as reductions in equalized assessed value) include the General Homeowner Exemption — up to $10,000 in Cook County, $8,000 in counties bordering Cook, and $6,000 elsewhere — plus a Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption and a Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze for lower-income seniors (household income limit of $75,000 for the 2026 assessment year).
School districts receive the largest share of the bill. In counties that have adopted the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), the growth of a taxing district's levy is capped at the lower of 5% or the rate of inflation.
Why your actual bill differs
The numbers above describe a typical homeowner in this ZIP — not your specific bill. A few things move bills away from the median:
- Cook County is assessed differently. Residential property in Cook is assessed at 10% of market value and classified, while the rest of the state uses 33⅓% — so Cook bills don't compare directly to downstate on assessed value alone.
- Exemptions must be claimed. The Homeowner, Senior, and Senior Freeze exemptions each reduce your equalized assessed value, and whether you've applied changes the bill.
- Stacked local rates. With more taxing districts than any other state, the exact combination covering your parcel — schools, municipality, county, and special districts — drives most of the difference.
For your current assessment and bill, the Illinois Department of Revenue lists every county's assessment and collector contacts; in Cook County, use the Cook County Assessor's parcel search.
Methodology
Data on this page comes from the US Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 vintage (released January 29, 2026), at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level. After filtering ZCTAs the Census suppresses for privacy or small-sample reasons, this page covers 1,309 Illinois ZIPs.
Illinois topcoding. The Census caps median property tax at $10,000 — median tax appears as $10,001 for any ZIP where the true median is at or above the cap. In Illinois this concentrates in high-value Chicago-area ZIPs (the North Shore and collar counties); effective-rate calculations for those ZIPs are floor estimates, not exact values.
See the full methodology page for source details (Census table IDs, the comparison-median rule, calculator formulas), how we handle topcoding across every state, and the refresh cadence.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the median tax in my ZIP different from what I pay?
Median is the middle of the distribution, not your bill. Illinois bills in arrears against an assessed value (33⅓% statewide, 10% residential in Cook), and the Homeowner, Senior, and Senior Freeze exemptions shift bills away from the ZIP median.
Why does my ZIP show $10,001 as the median tax?
That's the Census topcode. The ACS reports property-tax responses above $10,000 as $10,001 to protect privacy, so the true median is at least $10,000. In Illinois these are high-value Chicago-area ZIPs — the North Shore and collar counties.
Where do I find my actual Illinois property tax bill?
Records are local. The Illinois Department of Revenue lists contacts for all 102 counties; your assessment comes from the township/county assessor and the bill from the county collector. In Cook County, use the Cook County Assessor.
When does Illinois data update on this page?
Annually, when the Census Bureau releases a new ACS 5-year vintage. The 2020–2024 vintage released January 29, 2026. The next vintage (2021–2025) typically follows the next year, though the Census has not yet posted its release date.
Why don't you cover other states yet?
State-by-state rollout. Each state needs its own context section (assessment method, exemptions, local taxing structure) to be genuinely useful. High-search-volume states are going live first.