For most homeowners, the collapse of the housing market hasn't translated to relief from property taxes. Those taxes were slow to catch up with the boom, and now they're just as slow to fall as home values sink.
Property taxes -- the principal source of revenue for cities, counties and school districts -- are calculated by multiplying the nominal property-tax rate by the assessment ratio (the percentage of the value of the property that is taxed) by the value of the property. Such taxes are often the second-largest expense of homeownership, trailing only mortgages.
The figures in the map and table below, put together by the nonprofit Tax Foundation, are for property taxes paid by households on owner-occupied housing. As a result, they exclude property taxes paid by businesses, renters and others.
All data in the map and table come from the 2008 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. Median tax is the median real estate tax paid on owner-occupied housing units for that state. The home-value statistic used is the median value of owner-occupied housing units for that state. The income statistic used is the median household income for those households that are owner-occupied housing units.
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Updated Dec. 18, 2009
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