The effective tax rate for U.S. properties hit its highest mark since 2020 last year, with a decline in housing prices offset by rising bills, according to new analysis from Attom.
Single-family homeowners across the U.S. a cumulative total of $396.8 billion in taxes on more than 89.6 million properties in 2025.
At the same time, the average home generated $4,427 in property taxes, representing a 3% increase from $4,300 in 2024.
The rise in taxes levied came in higher, even as the average estimated home value fell 1.7% to $494,231 from $502,831.
The latest numbers meant the effective tax rate, which looks at amounts collected relative to prices, climbed higher by 4 basis points to 0.9% in 2025 compared to 2024's 0.86%. The most recent number is the highest since pre-pandemic 2020, when it clocked in at 1.1%.
"Property taxes in 2025 demonstrate that tax bills reflect more than just home values," Attom CEO Rob Barber said in a press release. The change in the effective rate is "underscoring the role of local government costs and shifting tax policies," he continued.
Driving up the effective rate was one of the highest average home values on record, despite 2025's pullback from the year prior. Home prices in 2024, though, had accelerated significantly compared to earlier in the decade, contributing to rising taxes.
How tax bills compared across the country
Like home prices,
Several Northeastern states were among the leaders in both tax rates and home values, which combined to drive up residential bills. New Jersey homeowners had the highest average tax bills at $10,499 in 2025, followed by Connecticut at $8,901 and New Hampshire at $8,174.
The Garden State, which also held the No. 1 spot in 2024, saw the mean tax bill grow by another 3.6% year over year from $10,134. Its average was nearly 10 times greater than the $1,081 mean levied in West Virginia, which was the lowest of all 50 states. Ten of the 26 counties with average bills above $10,000 were located in New Jersey.
Similarly, the Northeast, along with the Midwest, made up most of the lead pack in regards to the highest effective rates, headed by Illinois at 1.84%, New Jersey at 1.58% and Vermont at 1.4%.
On the other end of the scale, states with the lowest effective rates were concentrated in the West. Hawaii homeowners saw an effective tax rate of 0.33%, Idaho came in 0.39%, with Wyoming just behind at 0.4%.
Among the 221 local markets tracked by Attom, just about half saw their tax bills rise by more than the 3% national average. Of the largest metropolitan areas, Memphis homeowners saw a 34% jump in their bills, with Baltimore and St. Louis behind at 27% and 11%.
