2 IL Cities Have Among The Highest Property Tax Burden In The Country: New Ranking

KANE COUNTY, IL — Property taxes are one factor homeowners consider before buying a new property, and a new study found that two cities in Illinois have some of the highest property tax burdens in the United States.

SmartAsset, a personal finance platform, analyzed 343 of the largest U.S. cities to find where the largest — and smallest — percentage of homeowner income goes to paying property taxes each year. Aurora came in seventh place and Elgin in 12th place for most burden.

What researchers found about Aurora is that residents spend 5.83 percent of their income on property taxes, with $6,399 being the median annual amount paid. The median income of households with a mortgage in Aurora is $109,738, and the median monthly housing cost is $1,996, the study found.

In Elgin, pay 5.46 percent of their income, or about $6,595, on property taxes, the study found. The median annual income is $120,773, and homeowners spend about $1,984 monthly on housing costs.

Comparatively, Paterson, New Jersey, ranked in first place for property tax burden, with 9.76 percent of income being dedicated to property taxes. The median income is $100,227, with $9,779 going toward property taxes.

The study found that Montgomery, Alabama, has the lowest burden, at 1.06 percent. Here, the median income of households with a mortgage is $86,442, and about $917 goes toward property taxes each year.

To come to its rankings, SmartAsset compared the median annual real estate taxes paid to the median household income for homeowners using U.S. Census Bureau data from 2024 available for 343 cities with populations over 100,000.