| Real Estate Investing & Property Tax Rates | | | | Charlotte, NC - $2,021 |
| In the United States, property tax is assessed by local | | | | Boise, ID - $2,176 |
| government at the municipal or county level. The | | | | Columbia SC - $2,214 |
| property tax assessment is based on two values-the | | | | Las Vegas NV - $2,225 |
| value of the land, and the value of the building. Since | | | | Sioux Falls SD - $2,228 |
| property tax is calculated at a local-level-and since | | | | New Orleans, LA - $2,231 |
| changes occur frequently-it's tricky to determine the | | | | Wilmington DE - $2,416 |
| exact spots where property tax is the lowest. | | | | Memphis TN - $2,501 |
| However, the following information should help you | | | | Albuquerque NM - $2,517 |
| locate areas with high appreciation AND low property | | | | Houston TX - $2,861 |
| taxes. | | | | The Connection Between State Income Taxes & |
| Which States Have the Lowest Property Tax Rates? | | | | Property Tax Rates |
| County tax rates are often averaged into a single | | | | States with no income tax (see list below) usually have |
| figure, and this number is used when comparing | | | | high property tax rates in their respective counties |
| property taxes between states. Surprisingly, Wyoming | | | | (The state needs to get its revenue from |
| has the lowest property tax rates. Unfortunately, | | | | somewhere!). However, the trade-off is that you will |
| property values in Wyoming tend to be pretty | | | | have zero taxes on all earned income. This can be a |
| depressed, due to low population influx and a lack of | | | | huge advantage. Instead of paying the state 7 to 15 |
| jobs. Also, Wyoming does not rank highly when it | | | | percent (or more) of your income, you can keep your |
| comes to appreciation rates for residential and | | | | hard-earned money, and invest it back into real estate |
| commercial real estate. Just because an area has low | | | | or other investments. There are currently nine states |
| property taxes does not mean it will be the best area | | | | that do not tax income at the state level. |
| to invest in (or relocate to). | | | | States With No Income Tax |
| What to Look For When Investing | | | | Alaska |
| Look for an area that has a consistent rate of real | | | | Florida |
| estate appreciation, combined with fairly low property | | | | Nevada |
| taxes. Often, local property tax rates are low because | | | | South Dakota |
| real estate appreciation in the area is low-so you need | | | | Texas |
| to be careful. Cities located next to universities and | | | | Washington |
| areas where businesses are relocating are usually | | | | Wyoming |
| excellent spots to buy real estate. Paying attention to | | | | New Hampshire* |
| population growth can help you spot real estate trends | | | | Tennessee* |
| and make wiser investments. | | | | *New Hampshire and Tennessee do not tax earned |
| Medium-Sized Cities With the Lowest Property Tax | | | | income, but they DO tax capital gains (dividend and |
| Rates | | | | interest income). |
| According to data gathered by the Office of the CFO | | | | How To Find the Best of Both Worlds: Low Property |
| in Washington, D.C., the following cities have the lowest | | | | Tax & No State Income Tax |
| property tax rates in 2006, based on an annual income | | | | If you're looking for the best of both worlds (low |
| of $75,000. Assuming you earn $75,000 annually, here | | | | property tax and no state income tax), you may want |
| are the property tax amounts you would pay in each | | | | to consider the following cities: |
| city... | | | | Sioux Falls, SD |
| Birmingham AL - $988 | | | | Houston, Texas |
| Cheyenne WY - $1,108 | | | | Jacksonville, Florida |
| Phoenix AZ - $1,248 | | | | Memphis, TN |
| Wichita KS - $1,309 | | | | Cheyenne, WY |
| Denver CO - $1,362 | | | | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Charleston WV - $1,395 | | | | You can also explore less well-known cities in the nine |
| Oklahoma City OK - $1,538 | | | | "no-income-tax" states. Smaller towns and cities |
| Kansas City, MO - $1,595 | | | | generally offer "quality of life" advantages, and |
| Little Rock AR - $1,648 | | | | higher-than-average price appreciation and growth. |
| Louisville, KY - $1,713 | | | | Conclusion |
| Jacksonville FL - $1,744 | | | | Now you know which states don't tax income, and |
| Honolulu HI - $1,781 | | | | which areas have the lowest property tax rates. |
| Billings MT - $1,864 | | | | Armed with this knowledge, you can focus on finding |
| Salt Lake City, UT - $1,904 | | | | the best spot for your next home or real estate |
| Virginia Beach VA - $1,918 | | | | investment. |
| Jackson MS - $1,971 | | | | |