Lowest Property Tax States (2026)
Data updated April 2026 · Top 25 of 50 states
Ranked by effective property tax on owner-occupied housing (Tax Foundation, April 2026 dataset). Hawaii is lowest at 0.31% of home value per year. Property tax is the most predictable line on a rental P&L — on a $300k property, the spread between a 0.5% and a 2% state is $4,500 a year, every year.
| # | State | Property Tax Rate | Median Home Value | Median Rent | Rent / Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | 0.31% | $830,219 | $1,942/mo | 2.8% |
| 2 | Alabama | 0.41% | $236,704 | $1,077/mo | 5.5% |
| 3 | Mississippi | 0.52% | $194,242 | $990/mo | 6.1% |
| 4 | Utah | 0.52% | $540,992 | $1,593/mo | 3.5% |
| 5 | Colorado | 0.55% | $543,270 | $1,822/mo | 4.0% |
| 6 | Louisiana | 0.55% | $214,727 | $1,064/mo | 5.9% |
| 7 | Nevada | 0.55% | $447,225 | $1,709/mo | 4.6% |
| 8 | South Carolina | 0.57% | $305,173 | $1,272/mo | 5.0% |
| 9 | West Virginia | 0.59% | $174,876 | $883/mo | 6.1% |
| 10 | Delaware | 0.61% | $405,835 | $1,530/mo | 4.5% |
| 11 | Wyoming | 0.61% | $363,684 | $998/mo | 3.3% |
| 12 | Arkansas | 0.62% | $222,299 | $982/mo | 5.3% |
| 13 | Arizona | 0.63% | $423,745 | $1,672/mo | 4.7% |
| 14 | Idaho | 0.69% | $477,506 | $1,384/mo | 3.5% |
| 15 | Tennessee | 0.71% | $334,074 | $1,284/mo | 4.6% |
| 16 | California | 0.75% | $776,232 | $2,104/mo | 3.3% |
| 17 | New Mexico | 0.80% | $317,473 | $1,117/mo | 4.2% |
| 18 | North Carolina | 0.82% | $337,272 | $1,338/mo | 4.8% |
| 19 | Virginia | 0.82% | $414,320 | $1,646/mo | 4.8% |
| 20 | Kentucky | 0.83% | $232,231 | $998/mo | 5.2% |
| 21 | Montana | 0.84% | $467,919 | $1,177/mo | 3.0% |
| 22 | Indiana | 0.85% | $256,583 | $1,104/mo | 5.2% |
| 23 | Florida | 0.89% | $376,504 | $1,812/mo | 5.8% |
| 24 | Oklahoma | 0.90% | $221,764 | $1,044/mo | 5.6% |
| 25 | Georgia | 0.92% | $333,559 | $1,506/mo | 5.4% |
Frequently asked questions
How is this state ranking calculated?
Ranked by effective property tax on owner-occupied housing (Tax Foundation, April 2026 dataset). Full sources and refresh cadence are on our methodology page; data is refreshed when Zillow and Census publish updates.
What is a good rent-to-price ratio?
The median U.S. state sits at 4.6% annual rent-to-price (April 2026). The old "1% rule" (monthly rent ≥ 1% of price, i.e. 12% annual) is rare in today's market — most investors treat anything meaningfully above the median as cash-flow territory and verify with a full expense model.
About this data: compiled by RehabRange from Zillow Research (ZHVI home values, ZORI rents), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS population and income, Building Permits Survey), Bureau of Labor Statistics (unemployment), FBI Crime Data Explorer, FEMA, and Tax Foundation. Last updated April 2026.
RehabRange is built by Mitchell Haughton, a practicing eastern-Connecticut real estate investor — the same screens he runs before walking a property. How we rank markets