How Do Stillwater’s Taxes Compare to the Rest of Minnesota?

(James Warden wrote the original version of this post.)

Stillwater residents will see their taxes grow next year, but the increase will be the same as the average hike facing taxpayers in other communities, according to a Tuesday Minnesota Department of Revenue release of preliminary property tax levies.

State law requires local governments to set a preliminary levy by Sept. 15. After citizens have had an opportunity to learn about proposed tax levels at Truth-in-Taxation hearings, the governments must then set a final levy by Dec. 27. The final levy can be lower than the preliminary levy, but it can’t be higher.

(School district figures include voter-approved referenda.)

The City of Stillwater levy is set to grow by 2.1 percent—right on par with the 2.1 percent growth for cities across the state as a whole.

Unlike the city levy, Stillwater Area Public Schools taxes are scheduled to increase faster than the state as a whole. The district’s levies are on track to climb by 22.84 percent compared to the overall state increase of 2.6 percent.

School levies were initially set to decrease by $59 million statewide. But that changed last week when voters in districts across the state approved $119 million in new and renewed referenda, resulting in a $60 million increase. (Stillwater was one of those districts to approve levies.)

Washington County, on the other hand, is on track to fall below the statewide increase—1.38 percent compared to 1.50 percent.

The graphs above show the percentage changes for city, school district and county levies across the state. Click on the colored bars to see the data for each county, school district or city. Compare your taxes to nearby areas or click on “Percent Change” to sort by the size of the increase. Then tell us in the comments section below how you feel about your taxes.