Why Are Property Taxes So High In Illinois Compared To Others?

So many things in life, like root canals, splinters in your foot, or taking a big drink of spoiled milk are much, much more pleasant than making those property tax payments every year, especially here in the Land of Lincoln.

If you own a home in Illinois you know what I'm talking about. Property taxes are, to put it diplomatically, steep.

According to a recent study by PropertyShark, Illinois ranks second in the nation for effective property tax rates. The state’s effective rate is about 2.1% of market value each year. That means a home worth $300,000 could carry a tax bill of around $6,300 annually, which is definitely heavier than homeowners in most states face.

So what does that number mean in practice?

A separate analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute found the median property tax bill in Illinois in 2022 was $5,055, more than double the national median of about $2,457. And it isn’t uniform across the state. For example, homeowners in many parts of Illinois pay effective rates over 2 percent of market value.

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One Illinois City, Unfortunately For Its Residents, Takes The Crown

The metro area around Rockford takes the highest spot in the entire country when measured as a share of home value. The region averages nearly 2.1% of home value in property taxes annually, about $4,500 for a typical homeowner. This puts Rockford ahead of even many high-tax parts of Illinois and underscores just how big the tax burden can be.

According to a report by AttomData.com, Illinois has more than our share of cities with really high property taxes, starting with Rockford:

The average Rockford resident pays nearly 2.1% of their home value in property taxes every year (about $4,500). Last year Rockford had the nation’s second-highest taxes, beaten only by Akron, Ohio.
The Chicago metro area took 2nd-place with an effective rate of 1.91% and a tax bill of nearly $7,800.
Peoria took 3rd in the nation with a rate of 1.89% and Champaign-Urbana took 4th with 1.88%.
The Springfield area took 6th-place, beaten out by 5th place Trenton, New Jersey.
Illinois also has 27 of the 50 highest county property taxes in the country.

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We Know That Illinois Is #2 When It Comes To Property Taxes, So Let's See Who's #1, And Also Take A Look At The State With The Lowest Property Taxes In The Nation

There are quite a few miles between number-one and number-two.

On the high end: New Jersey holds the top spot with the highest effective property tax rate in the US, around 2.23% of home value.
On the low end: Hawaii has the lowest effective property tax rate in the country — about 0.27% of home value. What that means is in New Jersey you could be paying more than $6,000 a year in taxes on a $300,000 home, whereas in Hawaii you’d pay under $1,000 on that same value (though home values are much higher in Hawaii, so actual bills may differ).

You can read the entire piece and see where every state ranks by clicking here.