Sky-High Property Taxes: 4 Illinois Cities Are Highest In The US

As you probably know, several tax rate increases went into effect at midnight today, July 1st, here in Illinois:

• We've got Illinois' motor fuel tax increases that take our current state gasoline tax from 47 cents per gallon to 48.3 cents per gallon (it was 19 cents per gallon when the governor was elected).
• Tax on diesel fuel in Illinois went up to 55 cents per gallon from our former cost of 54 cents per gallon.

There's also a tax of 25 cents per wager that will be levied on the first 20 million wagers with licensed sportsbooks, and increase to 50 cents per wager after the first 20 million.

And we've got nearly 50 municipalities in Illinois that are now seeing their local sales tax increase. Those increases range from 0.25% to 2%.

Those are all going to cost you more money, but property taxes in Illinois cost you a lot more, especially if you live in one of four particular cities in Illinois.

Four Illinois Cities Have The Highest Property Taxes In The Entire Country

You read that headline correctly. The highest property taxes in the country. Not just in Illinois, not just in the Midwest, not just among states that begin with the letter I. The highest property taxes in the whole country.

As you probably already know, Illinois has lead (or has been very near the top) the United States in outbound migration, which is a fancy way of saying "residents leaving the state to find a better life and a better future."

When those who packed up and left are asked why they chose to leave Illinois for another state, the number-one reason given (by far) was just one word: Taxes.

Let's take a look at which four Illinois cities are extracting the highest property taxes in America, starting with the Illinois city that sits at the top spot:

Rockford, Illinois Is The Heaviest-Taxing Place In The Country When Measured As A Share Of Home Value

For a number of years, Chicago was known as the Second City as a nod to their overall population ranking behind New York, and Rockford was known as Illinois' Second City because the city trailed only Chicago in overall population.

Now, Chicago is the nation's 3rd largest city (after New York and LA), and Rockford is the 5th largest city in Illinois, behind Chicago, Aurora, Joliet, and Naperville.

The weird thing is that when it comes to the highest property taxes, Rockford is not only number-one in Illinois, it's also number-one in the country. Chicago, now the third largest city, is number-two in the nation when it comes to the highest property taxes.

Here Are The Other Illinois Cities That Really Squeeze The Property Taxes Out Of Their Residents

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.

Wirepoints.org:

Just like last year, Illinois took the top spot among the 50 states, with an effective average property tax rate of 1.87%. And again, all of Illinois’ neighbors sported far lower rates. Illinois’ rate is 2 times that of Indiana’s and 2.5 times that of Missouri and Kentucky’s.