Illinois again ranked second for highest property tax rates in the nation in 2021, behind only New Jersey.
Illinois homeowners average $4,942 in property taxes on the U.S. median valued home of $217,500 – exactly double the national average. That’s a tax each year of 2.27% of the house value, according to the 2021 state rankings by WalletHub.
“The first property tax bill I opened was sticker shock,” said retiree Jerry R. McDonald, who moved to Springfield in 2012 when he married his wife, Nancy, a lifelong Illinois resident. “The difference was about two and a half times what I had been paying in central Kentucky. It was very disconcerting.”
This is the fourth year Illinois has ranked second-highest in the WalletHub survey. The new survey found Illinois property taxes $237 higher than in the 2020 survey.
Illinois is surrounded by states with lower property taxes, a driving factor behind Illinois’ continued population loss. The state just saw its worst year of population loss since World War II. A move to Indiana would save an Illinoisan $3,089 in property taxes on that $217,500 house, based on WalletHub’s data. The savings would be $915 in Wisconsin, $2,831 in Missouri, $1,535 in Iowa, $3,076 in Kentucky and $1,599 in Michigan.
McDonald said since 2012 he’s seen his taxes rise too quickly in the Springfield area.
“Our property taxes have increased, at a rough guess, by about 15%. The state’s finances are a mess … The backlog of the pension fund is draining the state and the solution … is long term and complicated.”
Read more here and view state-by-state comparison data.
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