| 
				 
				The personal finance website SmartAsset analyzed 342 cities 
				across the country with populations greater than 100,000. 
				Specifically, cities are ranked by the median real estate taxes 
				paid (by homeowners with a mortgage) as a proportion of the 
				median annual housing payments. 
				 
				Researchers found that numerous Illinois cities appear in the 
				top 20 with the highest real estate taxes in the nation, 
				including the top two spots.  
				 
				“Out of the top 20 places with the most expensive real estate 
				taxes, Illinois had six cities in the ranking,” said SmartAsset 
				researcher Jaclyn DeJohn.  
				 
				Peoria led the entire country with the highest effective 
				property tax rate in 2023 at 2.6% of the median $168,900 home 
				value, with a median tax bill of $4,455 a year. Rockford came in 
				second at 2.4% and a median tax bill of $3,452. 
				Rounding out the top 5 were Waterbury, Connecticut; Syracuse, 
				New York; and Albany, New York.  
				 
				Other Illinois cities making the list included Elgin (7th), 
				Aurora (8th), Joliet (13th) and Springfield (16th).  
				 
				According to the analysis, southwestern cities dominated the 
				list for low real estate taxes relative to home values. While 
				Honolulu has the lowest relative real estate taxes with $2,346 
				median annual payments making up 0.28% of the median $823,500 
				home values, Arizona and Nevada cities constitute the majority 
				of the cheapest. They included Scottsdale, AZ (0.32%); San Tan 
				Valley, AZ (0.35%); Mesa, AZ (0.35%). 
				 
				Chicago placed third in the top-10 cities with the highest 
				aggregate residential real estate taxes collected at $3.2 
				billion. Only New York and Los Angeles were higher.    | 
				
				
				 |