1. How do Travis County’s property taxes compare to the rest of Texas?

 

The median property tax in Travis County is $7,160. That’s the second most in all of Texas - only Collin County paid more. 

 

That’s probably not so shocking since the Austin area has some of the highest average property values in Texas. 

 

But what might be a little more surprising is that besides Collin County, there’s not a single county anywhere near Travis with property values that high. Geographically, Chicago is the closest region with median property taxes above $7,000. 

 

2. What about on a state level? How do Texas’ property taxes compare to the rest of the country?

 

The average property tax payment nationwide is $1,815.

 

Texas has the seventh highest property taxes in the country - on average we have to pay 1.47% of the value of our home each year.

 

New Jersey is the highest, followed by Illinois and a few other Northeast states.

 

Then on the other end is Hawaii, where they only pay 0.26% of the value of their home. Nevada and Arizona are also among the lowest.

 

3. What are some of the factors that make Travis County’s property taxes higher than the rest of Texas?

 

Your school tax is included in your property taxes, and Texas uses a recapture system that makes things a little more expensive for Austin.

 

Taxpayers in areas with higher property values pay extra school taxes to help other schools around the state that have less resources.

 

Austin ISD paid $900 million for recapture last year. That’s nearly as much as the next four school districts combined, and it’s 60% of Austinites’ school property taxes that didn’t go to their own childrens’ school. 

 

Then this August, the city signed off on its largest budget ever, which is going to increase property taxes by almost $200 per year for a typical homeowner.

 

4. What do these numbers tell us about Texas’ government style?

 

Texas’ state taxes are pretty low compared to some other states, especially for a state of this size. 

 

That’s typical in most states with high local taxes and a Republican governor.

 

Our city manager and city council are going to have more influence here than they might in a state like California, which has lower property taxes but collects more state taxes than anywhere else.

 

That means it’s up to us to hold those local officials accountable and make sure Austin is getting its money's worth.