Connecticut Ranks 3rd in U.S. For Highest Property Tax Burden: Report

CONNECTICUT — A new report not only confirms what Connecticut residents already suspected about their property taxes, but also provides an even more sobering comparison with other states.

In a survey of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of real-estate and vehicle property taxes, personal finance website WalletHub tabulated Connecticut as having the third-highest real estate property taxes in the nation, behind only New Jersey and Illinois.

Among the only 26 states that collect taxes on vehicles, Connecticut's were the 8th highest, according to WalletHub. The state's $343,200 median home value is 18th highest, but behind neighboring New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

Here's the tab:

Property Taxes in Connecticut (1st=Lowest; 25th=Avg.):

• Real-Estate Property Tax Rank: 49th
• Vehicle Property Tax Rank: 44th
• Real-Estate Tax on Median State Home Value: $6,575
• Real-Estate Tax on Median U.S. Home Value: $5,813
• Vehicle Property Tax on Best-Selling Car: $605

The data used by WalletHub to create the rankings was collected as of Jan. 21, 2025, from the U.S. Census Bureau and each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

Connecticut's property tax rate cellar dwelling status was not unnoticed in Hartford. On Tuesday, Republicans Sen. Ryan Fazio and Sen. Minority Leader Stephen Harding, who are lobbying this session to "put a cap on property taxes in order to put $1,000 back in people’s pockets," called the state's current tax rate for both working class families and small businesses "crushing."

But Americans should not be overly focused on property taxes when choosing a place to raise their families, according to Valrie Chambers Ph.D., CPA, a Beights Research Fellow and associate professor of Taxation and Accounting at Stetson University. "For example, California and lately Florida are high-cost real estate localities. Florida’s property taxes are much lower, but insurance is much higher, so payments tend to even out," Chambers said.