Property tax by ZIP code
State medians hide enormous variation — a single state can swing from under 1% to over 3% from one county to the next. Pick your state below to look up the median property tax, median home value, and effective rate for a specific ZIP code, built from the 2020–2024 American Community Survey.
| State | Effective rate | ZIP codes |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 2.47% | 563 |
| Illinois | 2.23% | 1,309 |
| New Hampshire | 2.18% | 237 |
| Connecticut | 2.15% | 269 |
| Vermont | 1.90% | 242 |
| Texas | 1.80% | 1,651 |
| Wisconsin | 1.76% | 760 |
| Nebraska | 1.73% | 515 |
| New York | 1.72% | 1,613 |
| Rhode Island | 1.63% | 72 |
| Iowa | 1.57% | 908 |
| Ohio | 1.56% | 1,113 |
| Michigan | 1.54% | 956 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.49% | 1,635 |
| Kansas | 1.41% | 620 |
| Maine | 1.36% | 399 |
| South Dakota | 1.31% | 286 |
| Massachusetts | 1.23% | 509 |
| Alaska | 1.22% | 83 |
| Minnesota | 1.11% | 852 |
| Maryland | 1.09% | 420 |
| Missouri | 1.01% | 917 |
| North Dakota | 0.98% | 309 |
| Washington | 0.94% | 535 |
| Oregon | 0.93% | 365 |
| Georgia | 0.92% | 657 |
| Oklahoma | 0.90% | 602 |
| Florida | 0.89% | 927 |
| Indiana | 0.85% | 706 |
| Kentucky | 0.85% | 606 |
| Montana | 0.83% | 296 |
| North Carolina | 0.82% | 754 |
| Virginia | 0.82% | 774 |
| Mississippi | 0.81% | 350 |
| New Mexico | 0.80% | 217 |
| California | 0.74% | 1,575 |
| Tennessee | 0.71% | 583 |
| Idaho | 0.67% | 245 |
| Arizona | 0.66% | 330 |
| Utah | 0.63% | 254 |
| Arkansas | 0.61% | 496 |
| Delaware | 0.61% | 63 |
| Wyoming | 0.61% | 115 |
| Nevada | 0.59% | 135 |
| West Virginia | 0.59% | 516 |
| South Carolina | 0.57% | 375 |
| District of Columbia | 0.57% | 22 |
| Louisiana | 0.56% | 412 |
| Colorado | 0.55% | 457 |
| Alabama | 0.42% | 554 |
| Hawaii | 0.29% | 78 |
Don't see your state? 0 more are on the way — we add them one at a time so each gets its own assessment method, exemptions, and local context rather than a generic table. Until yours lands, the property tax by state page has the median for every state.
How to read these numbers
The effective rate for each ZIP is the median property tax paid divided by the median home value — what a typical homeowner there actually pays as a share of value. It folds together everything that complicates a raw mill-rate comparison: assessment ratios, exemptions, special districts, and statutory caps. Because it's a median, it ignores outliers and represents the middle of the local distribution, not your specific bill.
Within-state variation is the whole point of going to the ZIP level. A state median is a fine planning figure, but two ZIPs in the same state can sit a full percentage point apart depending on the local mix of school, county, and municipal levies — and on how recently the area was reassessed. Use the state page to look up your ZIP, then verify against your county or municipal assessor before making any decision. For the state-level baselines those ZIPs vary around, see the Tax Foundation's property taxes by state.
Methodology
Every ZIP figure 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. We filter out ZCTAs the Census suppresses for privacy or small-sample reasons, which is why a given state's count here is smaller than its total number of postal ZIPs.
- Topcoding. The Census caps median property tax at $10,000, reporting anything higher as $10,001. In high-value areas (around Boston, Fairfield County, Northern Virginia) some ZIPs hit the cap; for those, the figure is a floor and the effective rate is a conservative estimate. Each state page flags how often this happens locally.
- Owner-occupied only. Rentals and commercial property have different rate structures and aren't included in these medians.
- Annual refresh. Figures update when the Census releases a new ACS 5-year vintage, typically once a year.
See the full methodology page for source table IDs, the comparison-median rule, and the calculator formulas used across every state.
Frequently asked questions
Why look up property tax by ZIP instead of by state?
Because the state median can be wildly off for your actual area. Within one state, a high-levy school district or a recently reassessed town can carry a bill twice that of a neighboring ZIP. The ZIP-level view is the closest free, consistent national dataset to your real neighborhood.
Is the ZIP median the same as my tax bill?
No — it's the middle of the distribution for owner-occupied homes in that ZIP. Your bill depends on your home's assessed value, the exemptions you've filed, and the exact taxing districts you fall in. Use the median to gauge whether a ZIP runs high or low, then confirm specifics with the local assessor.
Why isn't my state listed yet?
We roll states out one at a time so each page carries its own real context — assessment method, exemption programs, reassessment cycle, and bill-lookup links — rather than a generic table. The property tax by state page covers all 50 states and DC in the meantime.
How do I lower the bill once I know my ZIP's rate?
Start with the two highest-leverage moves: make sure every exemption you qualify for is filed, and check whether your assessment is correct. Our assessment appeal savings calculator and guide to lowering your bill walk through both.