Property Tax Calculator

On effective property tax rate, the gap between the highest and lowest state is 1.88% (Illinois) versus 0.29% (Hawaii) — a 6.5x spread. The median state sits at 0.79%, and the middle half of states falls between 0.55% and 1.21%.

That spread is the reason this site publishes per-state answers instead of one national average: an average of 0.79% describes 7 of 50 states well and materially misstates the rest.

Property tax in U.S. is levied locally, not by the state, so the 0.79% effective rate above is the aggregate of county, municipal and school district levies rather than one statewide rate. On U.S.'s median home of $357,000 that aggregate comes to roughly $2,820 a year.

School funding is typically the largest single component nationally, which is why two homes of identical value in different U.S. districts can carry materially different bills. The figure here is a state-level effective rate and cannot capture that spread — your assessor's office publishes the actual millage for your parcel.

U.S. exempts $4,000 of assessed value on a primary residence. At the state's 0.79% effective rate that is worth about $32 a year — roughly 1% off the bill on a median-priced home.

Exemptions generally require that the property is your primary residence and are usually not automatic: most jurisdictions require a one-time application. Additional exemptions commonly exist for seniors, veterans and disability, and stack on top.

Effective property tax rates span roughly 0.3%-2.2% across states — a 7x spread that dominates the calculation — and homestead exemption mechanics differ structurally (flat dollar amount vs assessment-ratio reduction vs none).

Most calculator sites publish one page per state that repeats the same text with the name swapped. This one publishes a page only where the answer actually changes: 34 pages cover all 50 states, because 16 states produce an answer identical to another state's. The build measures every page against its siblings and fails if any two converge, so that property is enforced rather than intended.

Calculations run entirely in your browser — nothing you type is transmitted or stored. See methodology for the formulas and sources for provenance and vintages.