MEDIA RELEASE

For some time now, The Tax Foundation has published median property tax statistics for U.S. counties. Previously, data limitations meant that only mid- to high-population counties could be included.

Now, for the first time, data includes nearly all U.S. counties, ranked three different ways: by median property taxes paid on homes, by median property taxes as a percentage of median home values, and by median property taxes as a percentage of median household income.

The Census Bureau recently released American Community Survey data as a five-year average, from 2005 to 2009. The larger number of survey responses and correspondingly larger sample sizes included in this five-year period allows estimates to be calculated for every U.S county (or county-level entity).

Previously, these data releases were limited to one-year or three-year averages, and the lower sample sizes for these releases meant that only mid- to high-population counties were included.

As a state, Hawaii’s median real estate taxes place it 34th out of the 50 states.

According to the listing of property taxes on owner-occupied housing, by county, ranked by taxes as a percentage of income, for 2005 – 2009, the Big Island is fourth in the state.

Hawaii County ranks No. 2,560, while Honolulu is the highest ranked county in the state at No. 1,818. Kauai is at No. 2,167 and Maui ranks No. 2,251.

The full data is available here:

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Taxes Paid:
www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/27281.html

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Taxes As a Percentage of Income:
www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/27277.html

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Taxes As a Percentage of Home Value:
www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/27276.html

www.TaxFoundation.org/interactive/propertytax