You would think that it would be simple to determine which state has the highest property tax rate. First you could compile a list of the rates of each state, as the Tax Foundation recently did, but they also prefaced their report with a pretty big asterisk--there's no universal way to calculate the tax rates of each state and each state has their own way of taxing properties.
So even if a state has a higher property tax rate than another state, it doesn't necessarily mean that the residents of that state are actually paying more in property tax. Sound confusing? You're not alone.
The Tax Foundation tried to help people understand their actual rates a little better by giving you the property tax rates people actually paid and excluded property tax on rental and corporate properties. What they came up with is the highest effective property tax rates for each state.
Needless to say, some states pay far more than others. New Jersey has the highest effective rates and Arkansas has the lowest. Take a look at where your state stands and let us know if you're towards the top or bottom when it comes to property taxes.
My start of Oregon falls right in the middle at #24.
I have always felt that our property tax rates are pretty fair, especially since we have no state sales tax. The government has to get funded somehow and it's only fair to tax people who own property to make sure the essential functions of our state government can be funded.