By Ellen Anderson, Director of Research.
As the U.S. Census Bureau rolls out each new year of American Community Survey (ACS) implementation, the survey offers a greater variety of data to a broader reach of geographies. The 2008 ACS includes data on property taxes for counties with populations of at least 65,000 residents, marking the first publicly available data set of its kind in terms of scope and accuracy that will be reliably updated on a regular basis. The Census Bureau defines property taxes as all real estate taxes paid on owner-occupied units payable to all taxing jurisdictions, including special assessments, school taxes, municipal and county taxes, and other relevant jurisdictions.
Last year The Tax Foundation, nonpartisan educational and research organization, ranked the 790 counties for which the ACS measured property tax data (out of 3,077 counties nationwide) along two variables (1) property taxes as a percent of median incomes among county homeowners and (2) property taxes as a percent of median county home values. Nationwide, the Census Bureau estimates that median home values were $197,600 and median property taxes paid were $1,897 in 2008. According to The Tax Foundation, this represents 0.96% of median home values and 2.9% homeowner’s median income ($65,385).
The following map shows counties in which property taxes exceed the national proportions of property taxes/median income and property taxes/median home values. Red counties are those that exceed national figures for both measures (high tax counties), orange counties are those that exceed the nation in one measure but not the other (moderate tax counties), and yellow counties are those that fall below national figures for both measures (low tax counties).
Texas aside, which is a property tax-heavy state having no personal income taxes or and comparatively low taxes rates in other areas, the Sunbelt is extremely competitive in terms of property tax rates standing in stark contrast to the Rustbelt. This marks another reason why the Sunbelt has been successful in attracting throngs of new residents while many Midwestern and Northeastern communities are dying on the vine - weather, cost of living, taxes, and job opportunities have all incentivized outmigration in some way from less competitive communities to places like Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville.