15 States That Collect the Most Property Tax Revenue

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Porch.

Despite many economic experts’ worst fears early in the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local government budgets have proven resilient over the last two years. With much of the economy shut down or hobbled as a result of the pandemic, forecasters initially worried that states and localities would collect substantially lower amounts of sales and income tax and face major budget shortfalls as a result.

But behind falling unemployment, rising wages, and strong consumer spending, income and sales taxes have produced stronger-than-expected revenues since the initial shock of the pandemic.

One factor that has helped protect state and especially local revenues over this period is property tax, which is a tax levied on real property like land and buildings or certain forms of personal property. Property tax revenues tend to be more stable over time because property values are less susceptible to economic volatility than income and sales tax.

Depending on when taxes are assessed, it could take years for any significant changes in property values to become apparent in a government’s tax collections. This certainly helped keep property tax revenues steady during the pandemic — and for some communities, collections could potentially grow in coming years due to the skyrocketing values of residential real estate.

Property taxes’ stability could help continue to protect state and local budgets if the U.S. is headed toward a recession in the near future. Property tax collections represent 16.6% of state and local general tax revenues, which makes it the largest form of “own-source” revenue generated by states and localities, ahead of individual income (12.9%) and general sales taxes (12.5%).

Porch analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances to find which states collect the most property tax revenue.

15. Montana

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 18.0%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $1,717
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $1,835,479,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $10,222,926,000

14. Virginia

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 18.0%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $1,770
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $15,109,680,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $83,725,329,000

13. Florida

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 18.1%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $1,454
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $31,227,441,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $172,783,607,000

12. South Dakota

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 18.8%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $1,532
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $1,355,624,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $7,205,443,000

11. New York

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 18.9%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $3,180
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $61,857,624,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $327,909,409,000

10. Nebraska

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 20.4%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $2,013
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $3,893,168,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $19,086,993,000

9. Massachusetts

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 20.8%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $2,590
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $17,854,301,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $85,813,381,000

8. Rhode Island

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 22.0%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $2,526
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $2,676,164,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $12,180,352,000

7. Illinois

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 23.1%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $2,338
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $29,632,145,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $128,418,079,000

6. Vermont

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 23.9%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $2,938
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $1,833,211,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $7,665,670,000

5. Texas

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 24.0%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $2,098
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $60,826,579,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $253,819,166,000

4. Connecticut

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 25.8%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $3,215
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $11,463,831,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $44,454,140,000

3. Maine

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 26.8%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $2,772
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $3,726,532,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $13,903,942,000

2. New Jersey

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 28.7%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $3,513
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $31,200,180,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $108,751,702,000

1. New Hampshire

• Property tax as a share of total general tax revenue: 36.5%
• Annual property tax revenue (per capita): $3,246
• Annual property tax revenue (total): $4,413,670,000
• Annual general tax revenue (total): $12,099,243,000

Methodology

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. To determine the states that collect the most property tax revenue, researchers at Porch calculated property tax revenue as a share of total general tax revenue. In the event of a tie, the state with the greater annual property tax revenue per capita was ranked higher.