Address Newsletter
Get the latest news on buying, selling, renting, home design, and more.
Report: Mass. has the country’s 17th highest property tax rate
The effective real estate tax rate in Mass. is high, but in most other New England states it's even higher.
WalletHub’s 2025 Property Taxes by State report, published last week, indicates that Mass. pays the 17th highest property taxes in the country out of the 50 states and Washington D.C., with homeowners paying 1.11% of their home’s value in residential property taxes.
That’s over three times the property tax rate of Hawaii, which has the lowest in the country (0.27%).
Mass.’s rate is high: WalletHub estimates that on a home priced at the state median value of $525,800, the household pay $5,813 annually. But head to almost anywhere else in New England, and be prepared for even higher property tax rates: Rhode Island ranks 13th highest at 1.32%, Vermont fifth at 1.71%, New Hampshire fourth at 1.77%, and Connecticut, nearly at the very highest of the list, third with a residential property tax rate of 1.92%. Maine is one spot lower than Mass., but barely, with only a 0.01% difference.
Advertisement:
See the full list from WalletHub below:
Rank | State | Effective Real-Estate Tax Rate | Annual Taxes on $303.4K Home* | State Median Home Value | Annual Taxes on Home Priced at State Median Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | 0.27% | $820 | $808,200 | $2,183 |
| 2 | Alabama | 0.38% | $1,148 | $195,100 | $738 |
| 3 | Nevada | 0.49% | $1,472 | $406,100 | $1,970 |
| 3 | Colorado | 0.49% | $1,479 | $502,200 | $2,448 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 0.51% | $1,537 | $236,700 | $1,199 |
| 6 | Arizona | 0.52% | $1,571 | $358,900 | $1,858 |
| 7 | Delaware | 0.53% | $1,607 | $326,800 | $1,731 |
| 7 | Idaho | 0.53% | $1,619 | $376,000 | $2,006 |
| 7 | Utah | 0.53% | $1,608 | $455,000 | $2,412 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 0.54% | $1,628 | $155,600 | $835 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 0.55% | $1,654 | $256,800 | $1,400 |
| 11 | Louisiana | 0.55% | $1,666 | $208,700 | $1,146 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 0.57% | $1,736 | $175,300 | $1,003 |
| 14 | District of Columbia | 0.58% | $1,750 | $724,600 | $4,180 |
| 14 | Wyoming | 0.58% | $1,765 | $285,100 | $1,659 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 0.70% | $2,123 | $259,400 | $1,815 |
| 17 | California | 0.71% | $2,149 | $695,400 | $4,926 |
| 18 | New Mexico | 0.72% | $2,181 | $232,200 | $1,669 |
| 19 | Indiana | 0.74% | $2,251 | $201,600 | $1,496 |
| 19 | Mississippi | 0.74% | $2,235 | $161,400 | $1,189 |
| 19 | Virginia | 0.74% | $2,259 | $360,700 | $2,686 |
| 22 | Montana | 0.75% | $2,275 | $338,100 | $2,535 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 0.77% | $2,322 | $192,300 | $1,472 |
| 24 | Florida | 0.79% | $2,385 | $325,000 | $2,555 |
| 25 | Georgia | 0.81% | $2,461 | $272,900 | $2,214 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | 0.82% | $2,481 | $185,900 | $1,520 |
| 27 | Oregon | 0.83% | $2,516 | $454,200 | $3,767 |
| 28 | Washington | 0.84% | $2,545 | $519,800 | $4,361 |
| 29 | Missouri | 0.88% | $2,655 | $215,600 | $1,887 |
| 30 | North Dakota | 0.99% | $3,010 | $241,100 | $2,392 |
| 31 | Maryland | 1.00% | $3,043 | $397,700 | $3,989 |
| 32 | Minnesota | 1.04% | $3,162 | $305,500 | $3,184 |
| 33 | South Dakota | 1.09% | $3,318 | $236,800 | $2,590 |
| 34 | Maine | 1.10% | $3,332 | $266,400 | $2,926 |
| 35 | Massachusetts | 1.11% | $3,354 | $525,800 | $5,813 |
| 36 | Alaska | 1.14% | $3,445 | $333,300 | $3,785 |
| 37 | Michigan | 1.28% | $3,897 | $217,600 | $2,795 |
| 38 | Kansas | 1.30% | $3,942 | $203,400 | $2,643 |
| 39 | Rhode Island | 1.32% | $3,993 | $368,800 | $4,854 |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | 1.35% | $4,089 | $240,500 | $3,241 |
| 41 | Ohio | 1.36% | $4,131 | $199,200 | $2,712 |
| 42 | Iowa | 1.43% | $4,329 | $195,900 | $2,795 |
| 43 | Nebraska | 1.50% | $4,542 | $223,800 | $3,350 |
| 44 | Wisconsin | 1.51% | $4,594 | $247,400 | $3,746 |
| 45 | Texas | 1.58% | $4,790 | $260,400 | $4,111 |
| 46 | New York | 1.60% | $4,856 | $403,000 | $6,450 |
| 47 | Vermont | 1.71% | $5,176 | $290,500 | $4,956 |
| 48 | New Hampshire | 1.77% | $5,375 | $367,200 | $6,505 |
| 49 | Connecticut | 1.92% | $5,813 | $343,200 | $6,575 |
| 50 | Illinois | 2.07% | $6,285 | $250,500 | $5,189 |
| 51 | New Jersey | 2.23% | $6,770 | $427,600 | $9,541 |
*$303,400 is the median home value in the U.S. based on the most recent available data.
On average, American households pay $2,969 for real estate taxes on their home each year according to the U.S. Census Bureau data, and 26 states also have a vehicle property tax, which averages out to an additional $492 per year.
Massachusetts is one of those states, with a vehicle tax rate of about 2.25%. Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut also have vehicle property taxes, while Vermont and Rhode Island do not.
WalletHub’s data from previous years shows that the New England area and Northeast as a whole have not seen significant changes to real estate tax rates since data collection began in 2010.
Advertisement:
WalletHub used U.S. Census Bureau data to calculate real estate tax rates. For each state, the company divided “median real-estate tax payment” by the “median home price.” The site used the calculated rate to find the amount paid in real estate tax for a property worth $303,400, the median value for the home in the U.S. in 2023, the most recent data available.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com