State capitals · 2026
Property tax in every state capital county
For state employees, political-class relocators, capitol-area journalists, and anyone who just wants to compare the seats of US government. All 50 state capital counties, ranked low to high by effective property tax rate.
| # | Capital city | State | County | Effective rate | Median bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu | HI Hawaii | Honolulu | 0.30% | $2,490 |
| 2 | Dover | DE Delaware | Kent | 0.42% | $1,176 |
| 3 | Montgomery | AL Alabama | Montgomery | 0.45% | $833 |
| 4 | Charleston | WV West Virginia | Kanawha | 0.51% | $663 |
| 5 | Denver | CO Colorado | Denver | 0.55% | $3,190 |
| 6 | Santa Fe | NM New Mexico | Santa Fe | 0.55% | $2,420 |
| 7 | Phoenix | AZ Arizona | Maricopa | 0.58% | $2,520 |
| 8 | Columbia | SC South Carolina | Richland | 0.60% | $1,410 |
| 9 | Salt Lake City | UT Utah | Salt Lake | 0.60% | $3,360 |
| 10 | Baton Rouge | LA Louisiana | East Baton Rouge | 0.61% | $1,495 |
| 11 | Little Rock | AR Arkansas | Pulaski | 0.65% | $1,268 |
| 12 | Cheyenne | WY Wyoming | Laramie | 0.66% | $1,848 |
| 13 | Boise | ID Idaho | Ada | 0.71% | $3,763 |
| 14 | Sacramento | CA California | Sacramento | 0.73% | $4,052 |
| 15 | Nashville | TN Tennessee | Davidson | 0.74% | $3,220 |
| 16 | Helena | MT Montana | Lewis and Clark | 0.78% | $3,471 |
| 17 | Jackson | MS Mississippi | Hinds | 0.81% | $1,175 |
| 18 | Frankfort | KY Kentucky | Franklin | 0.84% | $1,638 |
| 19 | Annapolis | MD Maryland | Anne Arundel | 0.85% | $3,783 |
| 20 | Indianapolis | IN Indiana | Marion | 0.91% | $1,747 |
| 21 | Raleigh | NC North Carolina | Wake | 0.91% | $4,100 |
| 22 | Jefferson City | MO Missouri | Cole | 0.94% | $1,833 |
| 23 | Juneau | AK Alaska | Juneau | 0.95% | $4,038 |
| 24 | Tallahassee | FL Florida | Leon | 1.00% | $2,650 |
| 25 | Olympia | WA Washington | Thurston | 1.04% | $4,697 |
| 26 | Bismarck | ND North Dakota | Burleigh | 1.05% | $2,993 |
| 27 | Atlanta | GA Georgia | Fulton | 1.10% | $4,310 |
| 28 | Salem | OR Oregon | Marion | 1.13% | $4,012 |
| 29 | Richmond | VA Virginia | Richmond | 1.20% | $3,442 |
| 30 | St. Paul | MN Minnesota | Ramsey | 1.27% | $3,493 |
| 31 | Augusta | ME Maine | Kennebec | 1.30% | $3,705 |
| 32 | Pierre | SD South Dakota | Hughes | 1.30% | $2,795 |
| 33 | Lansing | MI Michigan | Ingham | 1.55% | $3,333 |
| 34 | Topeka | KS Kansas | Shawnee | 1.55% | $2,635 |
| 35 | Harrisburg | PA Pennsylvania | Dauphin | 1.74% | $3,828 |
| 36 | Madison | WI Wisconsin | Dane | 1.80% | $4,149 |
| 37 | Montpelier | VT Vermont | Washington | 1.80% | $6,120 |
| 38 | Des Moines | IA Iowa | Polk | 1.85% | $3,700 |
| 39 | Providence | RI Rhode Island | Providence | 1.85% | $6,753 |
| 40 | Columbus | OH Ohio | Franklin | 1.95% | $5,495 |
| 41 | Lincoln | NE Nebraska | Lancaster | 1.97% | $4,827 |
| 42 | Austin | TX Texas | Travis | 2.10% | $10,815 |
| 43 | Springfield | IL Illinois | Sangamon | 2.10% | $3,675 |
| 44 | Hartford | CT Connecticut | Hartford | 2.20% | $6,710 |
| 45 | Albany | NY New York | Albany | 2.45% | $6,615 |
| 46 | Concord | NH New Hampshire | Merrimack | 2.45% | $9,433 |
| 47 | Trenton | NJ New Jersey | Mercer | 2.79% | $8,510 |
The capital-county pattern
State capitals share a few structural quirks. Most have large state-government employment bases, which keeps the local economy stable but doesn’t add to the tax base — state buildings, university campuses, and capitol grounds are tax-exempt. The substantial nonprofit and government sector pushes more of the tax burden onto residential homeowners.
Capital cities also tend to have older housing stock than booming non-capital counties. That keeps median home values moderate, which keeps absolute bills lower than the rate alone might suggest. Honolulu, an outlier, has a 0.27% rate but $700K+ home values, so the median bill is still substantial.
For more comparison: 50 largest US counties, states ranked by rate, or compare any two counties directly.