There’s good news and bad news when it comes to the level of property taxes in Maine, as documented in a barometer released by WalletHub this week.
With an effective real estate tax rate of 1.02%, the Pine Tree State is ranked No. 32 on the list, tied with Minnesota, according to the personal finance website.
For Maine property owners, that rate equals roughly $3,406 a year on a $332,700 home — the 2024 U.S. median, according to census data cited in the report.
Maine homes priced at the state median value of $257,400 are taxed at $3,036 a year, WalletHub found.
Middle of the pack
Maine’s No. 32 ranking means that 31 other locales are taxed at a lower rate, but 18 — including its New England neighbors— are taxed at a higher rate. Hawaii has the lowest rate at 0.27%, while New Jersey has the highest at 2.11%.
Among other New England states, the effective real estate tax rate is 1.07% in Massachusetts, 1.21% in Rhode Island, 1.59% in Vermont, 1.66% in New Hampshire and 1.81% in Connecticut.
From ‘annoyance’ to ‘strain’
Citing U.S. Census data, WalletHub notes that the average U.S. household pays $3,119 per year in property taxes on its home, which can vary from a “minor annoyance to a significant financial strain.”
To determine the states with the highest and lowest property taxes, researchers compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia by using census data to determine real estate property tax rates.
Analysts then divided the median real estate tax payment by the median home price in each state and used the resulting rates to obtain the dollar amount paid as real estate tax on a house priced at the median U.S. value.