Colorado is the #3 state with the lowest property taxes

Ask any homeowner about expenses and they’ll tell you: If you’re a first-time buyer, you need to carefully calculate the total cost of owning a home before taking the plunge into homeownership.

Owning a home comes with dozens of additional costs, from mortgage payments and interest to upkeep, renovations, and household utility bills. It doesn’t take long before expenses add up—especially when they come on top of potential property tax costs.

To determine which states offer the lowest in property taxes, Roofstock analyzed 2021 data from Wallethub and the U.S. Census Bureau. Costs were then determined for real estate property tax rates, median real estate tax payments, and median home prices for every state and Washington D.C. These amounts were then contextualized with what first-time homebuyers need to know about property taxes.

Colorado by the numbers

- Effective real estate tax rate: 0.51%
- Annual taxes on $217.5k home: $1,113
- Colorado's median home value: $343,300
- Annual taxes on Colorado's median home: $1,756

Colorado’s median home value is a lot higher than some of the other states on this list, but the state’s effective real estate tax rate is in the bottom three in the nation. What makes that low tax rate possible is the fact that property tax rates in Colorado do not apply to market value. They are applied to the assessed value, which is called the residential assessment rate, and the assessed value is just a fraction of the market value of your home.

The assessed value fluctuates in Colorado, but the most recent estimated assessed value rate for homes in the state is 7.15%. Plus, property in this state is valued in two-year cycles, which means that assessment hikes are limited to every two years—and there is a formal system in place for homeowners to protest valuations they disagree with. These factors help Colorado’s real estate tax rate stay at the lowest of the low, despite the ever-increasing home prices in the state.

In some states, the high cost of property taxes can cause a home with an otherwise affordable price tag to be well out of someone’s price range. In others, the low cost of property taxes could give you a little more wiggle room in your budget—which is never a bad thing.

If the idea of weighing the estimated costs of property taxes seems overwhelming to you, start by looking at the states with the lowest property taxes listed below. The national list is reverse-ordered by effective real estate tax rate, with Hawaii as the state with the lowest property taxes, though the results would look different if it was ordered by the taxes on the state's median home. Whether you're looking for a dream home or next big investment, owning a home comes with several additional costs, property taxes being one of them.

States with the lowest property taxes

#1. Hawaii: 0.28% effective real estate tax rate
#2. Alabama: 0.41% effective real estate tax rate
#3. Colorado: 0.51% effective real estate tax rate
#4. Louisiana: 0.55% effective real estate tax rate
#5. Washington, D.C.: 0.56% effective real estate tax rate