Illinois
2 Illinois cities have highest property taxes in country relative to home value, study says
Peoria has the highest property taxes in the country relative to market value of homes, according to a study of 342 of the largest cities.
SmartAsset ranked cities based on the “median annual real estate taxes paid on owner-occupied homes with a mortgage relative to the median home value of such households.”
Peorians, according to the study, pay 2.64% of the value of their homes in annual property taxes, the highest mark in the country, according to the study based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 1-Year American Community Survey for 2023. The median amount spent in property taxes for owner-occupied homes was $4,455 a year and the median home value in Peoria was $168,900, according to SmartAsset.
Illinois had the top two cities on the list and four of the top eight. Rockford was No. 2. Homeowners there paid 2.46% of their home value in property taxes with a median of $3,452 in property taxes paid, according to the study. The median home value in Rockford was $140,300, according to the study.
The rest of the top five, based on the highest percentage of property taxes paid relative to home values, included: Waterbury, Connecticut (2.39%); Syracuse, New York (2.36%); and Albany, New York (2.34%).
Elgin was seventh with 2.23% of home value paid for real estate taxes, with $6,394 being the median amount for property taxes and $287,300 listed as the median home value. Aurora was eighth with 2.21% of home value paid in property taxes, with a median property tax amount of $6,310 and a median home value of $285,300.