Property tax rates are often overlooked during the home buying process, but property tax is something that homeowners need to factor in when they are considering or getting ready to purchase a home. Besides the mortgage itself, property tax is the second highest bill that will be paid into an owner’s property and the rate of property tax can have huge variables, even from one county to another within the same state.
How Are Property Taxes Decided?
Property tax rates are determined by the owners’ (or household) combined income, the assessment cost of the property itself and the classification of the type of property in question. For residential homeowners in New York, property would fall under class one, which is taxed at a much lower rate than commercial properties or apartment buildings. There are also tax exemptions and abatements that, if eligible, will be deducted from the amount overall to determine your final property tax payment.
What Is the Property Tax for Bronx, New York?
The Bronx, in New York City has the highest effective rate of New York City property tax (inclusive only of the five boroughs, not Nassau or the surrounding counties, where the property tax rates are much higher) falling at 0.83%. Surprisingly, New York City as a whole has a fairly low property tax rate when compared to the rest of the nation, which rounds out at 1.5%. The Bronx has property tax rates that are also much lower than New York State itself, which has a state property tax rate of 2.5%. Let’s explore how Bronx property tax rates measure up to the rest of major cities around the United States, as well as its fellow boroughs in New York City.
How Does the Property Tax for the Bronx Compare to Other Major Cities?
Brooklyn (Kings County) New York
Brooklyn (Kings County) property tax rate stands at 0.6%, which is pretty low overall and well below the national average. It is also lower than its borough neighbor of the Bronx.
Manhattan
Surprisingly, even with the astronomical real estate prices that are often seen in Manhattan, the property tax rate falls in at 0.72%, which is the second lowest property tax rate, just under Brooklyn (Kings County)
Queens
The Queens County tax rate is 0.75% for residential homeowners, falling into third place for New York City highest property tax rates, right underneath Staten Island.
Staten Island
Staten Island has pretty high property tax rates as well, coming in around 0.8%, which falls right underneath the Bronx as the leader for the highest property tax rates in NYC. This is also due to a recent surge in overall property tax rates in Staten Island over the last few years.
Newark, New Jersey
Many home and property owners in  New Jersey are paying fairly high and above national average property tax rates. Newark is no different, settling in at a whopping 3.12% property tax rate.
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood, NJ is known for its high income residents, thus it’s no surprise that property tax rates there are higher than normal. This community’s property tax rates lands at 2.16% for Bergen County.
Dallas, Texas
Texas state residents pay higher than average tax rates across the board, coming in as the fourth highest in the nation at 1.97%. The booming city of Dallas is no exception. Their residents pay a whopping 2.173% for property tax.
Manchester, New Hampshire
Because Manchester in New Hampshire is a town that relies mainly on the property taxes that are paid for school funding, the property tax rate is 3.07%, which is more than double the national average. However, as a tradeoff to residents, New Hampshire’s other taxes (sales, income, etc.) are set fairly low.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The city of brotherly love has a property tax rate for their residents of 0.949%, which isn’t too bad, considering it is such a populous and well-known city.
Fresno, California
Fresno is doing pretty well when it comes to property tax rates for residential owners- the city comes in at 0.91%.
Los Angeles, California
Cost of living as well as real estate prices in Los Angeles can be sky high, however, their property tax rates aren’t too bad when compared to other major cities around the United states. They are still sitting under the national average property tax rate, rounding out at 1.12%.
Atlanta, Georgia
Many northeasterners have been flocking south, especially to Georgia and the city of Atlanta to escape high cost of living rates. Atlanta’s property tax rates are currently 1.14%, but this number can fluctuate greatly according to county, where some property tax rates can come out to nearly double the national average.
Columbus, Ohio
The city of Columbus, Ohio has a fairly high property tax rate for its residents, at 2.03%, coming in fairly higher than the national average.
You should be mindful that the lowest national property tax rates are found in the least densely populated areas of the United States, often in the deep south and not in any of the highly populated major cities. Also, remember that the rates quoted are based on estimates- the property tax rate will vary based on the factors that are used to determine the final property tax rate for your home in particular – including the assessment amount that the home is given by the assessor and deducting any exemptions that you may be eligible for.
2 Point Highlight
Besides the mortgage itself, property tax is the second highest bill that will be paid into an owner’s property.
The Bronx has property tax rates that are also much lower than New York State itself, which has a state property tax rate of 2.5%.
