Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
California’s effective property-tax rate on owner-occupied housing was 0.70% in 2024, compared with a 0.90% U.S. average. That placed California 32nd among the states in the Tax Foundation’s 2024 comparison. The ranking measures property taxes paid as a share of owner-occupied home value; it is not California’s statutory tax rate and cannot predict a particular parcel’s bill.
California’s Proposition 13 system is the reason two similar homes can have very different bills. It generally limits annual growth in assessed value to 2%, caps the property-tax rate at 1% of assessed value, and resets the assessment to the purchase price when a property changes ownership. Your actual bill therefore depends on the home’s assessment history and jurisdiction as well as its market value.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
California compared with other states at a glance
| Place | 2024 effective rate | What the figure represents |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 1.88% | Highest state rate in this owner-occupied-housing series |
| Illinois | 1.88% | Tied for highest |
| United States | 0.90% | National reference average |
| California | 0.70% | 32nd among states |
| Hawaii | 0.29% | Lowest state rate in the series |
These rates come from the Tax Foundation’s 2026 Property Taxes by State and County publication, which uses 2024 American Community Survey estimates. The effective rate is total real-property taxes paid divided by the value of owner-occupied housing. It excludes taxes paid by businesses, renters and other property owners, so it is best read as a homeowner comparison rather than a measure of every tax collected in a state.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFor additional context in the same dataset, Texas measured 1.40%, Florida 0.78% and Nevada 0.50%. A lower percentage does not automatically mean a lower annual bill: a high-value home can produce a larger bill than a less expensive home in a state with a higher rate.
#1 Best Overall
What an effective property-tax rate means
The denominator is owner-occupied housing value
The comparison answers this question: how much real property tax was paid relative to the value of homes occupied by their owners? Tax Foundation calculated the rates from U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey datasets B25082 and B25090. Because the denominator is housing value and the tax total is tied to owner-occupied homes, the result is an aggregate effective rate, not a rate printed on an individual tax notice.
It does not tell you the levy on commercial buildings, apartment properties, vacant land or second homes. It also does not include renters’ indirect exposure to property taxes through rent. Those exclusions matter when comparing a state’s entire tax burden or evaluating a move that involves a business or rental property.
It is different from a statutory rate
A statutory or locally imposed rate is the percentage applied under a state and local tax system. An effective rate is an outcome calculated from taxes paid and property values. The two can diverge because assessments, exemptions, reassessments and local rules affect what owners actually pay. California’s 0.70% figure should therefore not be interpreted as a universal 0.70% charge on every home.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →It is also different from tax collections per person or income
Tax comparisons can use collections per capita or collections as a share of personal income. Those measures answer different questions and may include taxes on more property classes than the owner-occupied-home measure. Mixing those rankings with the homeowner effective-rate ranking can make one state appear to move up or down for reasons unrelated to the tax on a typical owner-occupied house.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
How California ranks against high- and low-tax states
New Jersey and Illinois are the high-rate bookends
At 1.88% each, New Jersey and Illinois had the highest effective rates among states in the 2024 owner-occupied series. Their position means the taxes paid were a larger share of home value than in California under the same definition and year. It does not establish that every homeowner in either state pays more dollars than every California homeowner; home prices and local assessments still determine the bill.
Hawaii is the low-rate bookend
Hawaii’s 0.29% rate was the lowest in the same comparison. The gap between Hawaii and California illustrates why a ranking needs a clearly stated denominator. A state can post a low effective percentage while a particular owner pays a substantial dollar amount on a high-value property.
Nearby choices do not follow one pattern
Florida’s 0.78% rate was close to California’s, Nevada’s was lower at 0.50%, and Texas’s was much higher at 1.40%. These figures can help screen possible destinations, but they are not a substitute for a local estimate based on the specific purchase price, assessment rules and jurisdiction.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Does California have high property taxes?
On the 2024 owner-occupied effective-rate measure, California is below the national average and ranks 32nd, so it is not a high-rate state by that comparison. The conclusion changes if “high” means the dollar amount on a particular tax bill. California’s housing values vary widely, and a 0.70% statewide effective rate cannot tell you whether a specific home’s annual bill will be affordable.
California also raises a large share of local revenue through property taxation. Property taxes represented 70.0% of local tax collections and 28.9% of combined state and local tax collections in fiscal year 2023, according to the Tax Foundation’s 2026 state and county analysis. Those shares describe government finance, not the rate applied to an individual homeowner.
Why a California property-tax bill can differ from a neighbor’s
Proposition 13 ties assessment growth to a property’s history
California voters approved Proposition 13 in 1978. The Tax Foundation’s explanation of the system states that it limits the property-tax rate to 1% for residential and commercial property and generally limits annual growth in assessed value to 2%. The assessment is linked to the value established when the property is purchased, subject to the annual cap.
When the property is sold, the assessment generally resets to the new purchase price. A recent buyer and a long-time owner in nearly identical houses can therefore have very different assessed values and bills. The statewide effective rate averages these outcomes and does not reveal the assessment history behind either parcel. See the Tax Foundation’s analysis of Proposition 13 and California property-tax limits for the cited rules.
Rate limits and assessment limits are not the same
Property-tax systems use several kinds of restraints:
Rank #4
- Assessment limits restrict how quickly an individual property’s taxable value can grow.
- Rate limits cap the percentage, or millage, applied to assessed value.
- Levy limits restrict the total amount a government can collect.
California is identified as having assessment and rate limits. These mechanisms can shift a greater share of the burden toward newer properties or properties that have changed ownership, because capped assessments on older holdings grow more slowly. The Tax Foundation’s property-tax assessment guide also discusses policy findings that assessment caps may discourage moving or improvements. Those are general policy effects identified in the analysis, not a prediction for every owner or jurisdiction.
Market value is not the same as assessed value
A home’s resale price can rise sharply without its taxable assessment immediately matching that market value, provided the ownership and assessment rules have not triggered a reset. Conversely, buying a similar home at today’s price can establish a much higher assessment than a neighbor’s decades-old purchase. Comparing homes by market price alone will therefore miss an important part of a California tax comparison.
What property taxes pay for
Property taxes are levied almost exclusively by local governments and help finance K–12 schools, local roads, police, fire and emergency medical services, and parks. The Tax Foundation describes them as “the primary tool for financing local governments.” Local governments’ reliance on this source is why a state-rate comparison should be paired with a review of services and local finances.
A separate Tax Foundation analysis, using the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, found that property taxes generated 73% of local tax revenue nationwide and 70% in California. That 2021 local-tax-revenue measure should not be combined with the 70.0% share of local collections reported for fiscal year 2023: the years and definitions differ.
Best Value
- It can be a gift option
- Comes with secure packaging
- Helpful in various ways
How much property tax would you pay if you moved?
No statewide ranking can calculate your bill by itself. A useful estimate requires the property’s likely assessed value, the local jurisdiction and the rules that apply when you buy. Use the following sequence before treating a state comparison as a moving-budget number.
- Define the property and taxpayer. Decide whether you are comparing an owner-occupied home, a rental, commercial property or another class. The 0.70% California figure covers owner-occupied housing only.
- Use a common year and measure. Start with the 2024 effective-rate table for a broad screen. Record the source, year and denominator so you do not compare it with a statutory rate or a personal-income measure.
- Estimate the purchase-based assessment. In California, a purchase generally establishes a new assessed value. A home’s current market listing price is a useful starting point for a buyer, but it is not the same as the bill paid by a long-time owner.
- Apply the relevant local rules. Confirm the jurisdiction and the tax calculation used there. Statewide averages conceal local differences, and the bill depends on both the property and the jurisdiction.
- Separate rate from dollars. Multiply the applicable assessed value by the applicable rate only when you have a defensible local rate and assessment. Do not multiply a home price by California’s 0.70% statewide effective rate and present the result as a quote.
- Compare the rest of the move. Review housing prices, other state and local taxes, public services and any exemptions for which you may qualify. Property tax is one component of the budget, not a complete cost-of-living measure.
How to compare states responsibly
A sound comparison keeps the following axes together:
- Effective rate: State the denominator, taxpayer group and year. For this article, that is owner-occupied housing value in 2024.
- Median bill and home value: If you use them, label each as a median and identify the geography. A median bill cannot be inferred from a statewide percentage alone.
- Assessment, rate and levy limits: Check whether the state caps assessed-value growth, the tax rate, total collections or some combination, and note what happens on a sale.
- Property class: Do not use an owner-occupied-home rate to describe commercial or rental property.
- Local-service context: Account for the schools, roads, public safety and other services funded by the tax.
Common comparison mistakes include using a current year for one state and an older year for another, treating a statewide effective rate as a guaranteed bill, and assuming that a lower percentage means lower total housing costs. The same-year, same-definition approach avoids those errors.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallHow current are these numbers?
The latest common-year homeowner series identified here is 2024. The Tax Foundation page was published March 16, 2026, and says its state rates use American Community Survey data. Because the underlying survey year will eventually update, check the table again when a newer common year is released. A future update may change the ranking even if California’s tax rules remain the same.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
