How do property taxes in Georgia compare to other states?

Home sales surged in the United States in the early months of the pandemic. From the first quarter of 2020 to the second, the homeownership rate in the U.S. climbed from 65.3% to 67.9% – the largest quarterly increase since record keeping began in the mid 1960s. And while owning a home offers several advantages over renting, it also comes with added expenses – not the least of which are property taxes.

Property taxes, specifically those on land and residential structures, are typically levied at the local level – by cities, counties, or school districts. State governments also often impose additional taxes on personal property such as cars or boats.

Typically used for funding public services such as schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure improvements, property taxes are the lifeblood of local communities across the United States. Nationwide, property taxes accounted for 32.2% of all state and local tax revenue in fiscal 2020, more than any other tax, including sales and income taxes. Depending on the state, property taxes account for anywhere from 16.8% to 64.0% of tax revenue. (Here is a look at the counties where families need to budget the most for taxes in every state.)

Exactly how much Americans pay each year in property taxes depends both on their local property tax rate and the value of their property. For example, if a single family home is valued at $200,000 in a given year and the local property tax rate is 1%, the property tax bill would come to $2,000.

With a median home value of $249,700 in 2021, Georgia has the 25th least expensive housing market in the country, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. And according to the Tax Foundation, an independent nonprofit tax policy research organization, the effective property tax rate in Georgia was 0.92% in 2021, the 25th highest among the 50 states.

Meanwhile, per capita state and local property tax collections in Georgia totaled $1,336 in fiscal 2020, compared to $1,810 across the entire country.

All tax data in this story was compiled by the Tax Foundation.

Rank	State	Effective property tax rate, 2021 (%)	Per capita state & local prop. tax collections, FY2020 ($)	Median home value, 2021 ($)
1	New Jersey	2.23	3,431	389,800
2	Illinois	2.08	2,268	231,500
3	New Hampshire	1.93	3,285	345,200
4	Vermont	1.83	2,860	271,500
5	Connecticut	1.79	3,295	311,500
6	Texas	1.68	2,216	237,400
7	Nebraska	1.63	2,088	204,900
8	Wisconsin	1.61	1,717	230,700
9	Ohio	1.59	1,458	180,200
10	Iowa	1.52	1,806	174,400
11	Pennsylvania	1.49	1,644	222,300
12	New York	1.40	3,118	368,800
13	Rhode Island	1.40	2,449	348,100
14	Michigan	1.38	1,594	199,100
15	Kansas	1.34	1,712	183,800
16	Maine	1.24	2,862	252,100
17	South Dakota	1.17	1,606	219,900
18	Massachusetts	1.14	2,638	480,600
19	Minnesota	1.11	1,776	285,400
20	Maryland	1.05	1,744	370,800
21	Alaska	1.04	2,276	304,900
22	Missouri	1.01	1,114	198,300
23	North Dakota	0.98	1,538	224,400
24	Oregon	0.93	1,730	422,700
25	Georgia	0.92	1,336	249,700
26	Florida	0.91	1,541	290,700
27	Oklahoma	0.89	883	168,500
28	Virginia	0.87	1,830	330,600
29	Washington	0.87	1,727	485,700
30	Indiana	0.84	1,146	182,400
31	Kentucky	0.83	33	173,300
32	North Carolina	0.82	1,082	236,900
33	California	0.75	1,955	648,100
34	Montana	0.74	1,806	322,800
35	New Mexico	0.67	899	214,000
36	Mississippi	0.67	1,167	145,600
37	Tennessee	0.67	845	235,200
38	Idaho	0.67	1,131	369,300
39	Arkansas	0.64	798	162,300
40	Arizona	0.63	1,206	336,300
41	Delaware	0.61	1,049	300,500
42	Nevada	0.59	1,153	373,000
43	Utah	0.57	1,209	421,700
44	West Virginia	0.57	1,002	143,200
45	South Carolina	0.57	1,314	213,500
46	Louisiana	0.56	914	192,800
47	Wyoming	0.56	2,163	266,400
48	Colorado	0.55	1,956	466,200
49	Alabama	0.40	632	172,800
50	Hawaii	0.32	1,556	722,500