US property taxes rose twice as fast last year than in 2021

By Alex Tanzi | Bloomberg

Property taxes increased twice as fast last year than in 2021 in the US, with many areas in the South and West increasing by more than the national average.

Even after the gains, single-family-home property taxes remain much lower in the Sun Belt than in the Northeast, according to a report released by real estate data firm Attom on Thursday.

On average, people in Florida paid less than $4,100 a year on property taxes in 2022 — not even half the bill for a typical New Jersey resident. In that state’s Essex and Bergen counties, the charge per homeowner exceeded $13,000 — more than $1,000 a month.

“Property taxes continued their never-ending climb last year, with wide disparities continuing from one area of the country to another, connected to varying costs, services, and tax bases,” Rob Barber, chief executive officer at Attom, said in the report.

Although states in the South have traditionally been lower-cost, property taxes have surged in recent years. Many people flocked there — a trend accelerated by the pandemic — creating more need to improve infrastructure and services.

But property taxes remain comparatively low, even in some of the most expensive parts of the region. In Palm Beach County, Florida, for instance, taxes jumped almost $2,000 in 3 years and averaged $7,525 for single-family homes last year, according to Attom.

Nationwide, the average tax on single-family homes increased 3% in 2022, to $3,901, after rising 1.8% the previous year.

The effective tax rate is the average annual property tax expressed as a percentage of the average estimated market value of homes in each geographic area.

Among metropolitan areas with a population of at least 200,000 in 2022, 19 of the 20 cities with the highest effective tax rates were in the Northeast and Midwest.