Illinois Has The 2nd Highest Property Taxes In The U.S.

With election season rolling around, chances are you won't see many incumbents featuring that fun fact in their campaign commercials, since our stunningly high tax rates are what's driving people out of Illinois to begin with.

How many people in Illinois react like this when they get a look at their property tax bills?

Throughout The Country, Only Residents Of The Garden State Have It Worse In Property Taxes Than Illinois Property Owners

Personal-finance website WalletHub.com took a look at property taxes in each and every state to come up with their numbers:

Which states have the largest property tax load, and what should residents keep in mind when it comes to meeting and minimizing their tax obligations? In search of answers, we analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of real-estate and vehicle property taxes.

After looking over WalletHub's numbers, I can tell you that the difference between the highest property tax states and the lowest ones is pretty shocking.

Before We Get To Illinois' Numbers, Here Are The Top 3 States With The Lowest Property Taxes

• Hawaii: With an effective real estate tax rate of 0.28%, Hawaiians would pay $1,715 on a $615,000 house (Hawaii's median home price)
• Alabama: Their effective real estate tax rate is 0.41%, which means that an Alabamian pays out $587 on their median priced home of $142,700.
• Colorado: Effective real estate tax rate is 0.51%, which would require a tax payment of $1,756 on their median priced home of $343,300.

If you're a long-time property tax payer here in Illinois, I imagine you're already feeling a bit nauseous.

Now, Let's Look At The 3 States With The Absolute Highest Property Taxes

You already know that Illinois comes in as the state with the second highest property taxes in the country, so here's who's sandwiching us in property tax hell.

New Jersey is number one in highest property taxes: The Garden State's effective real estate tax rate is 2.49%, which would mean an annual tax payment on a median priced home ($335,000) of $8,362.

New Hampshire is number 3 overall in highest property taxes with an effective real estate tax rate of 2.18%. That means a payment of $5,701 on a median priced home ($261,700)

As for Illinois coming in at number two on the list:

Property Taxes in Illinois (1^st=Lowest; 25^th=Avg.):

• Real-Estate Property Tax Rank: 50^th
• Vehicle Property Tax Rank: 1^st
• Real-Estate Tax on Median State Home Value: $4,419
• Real-Estate Tax on Median U.S. Home Value: $4,942
• Vehicle Property Tax on Best-Selling Car: $0

Illinois' effective real estate tax rate is 2.27%, and the median home price is $194,500. That would make the tax payment $4,419.

Click here to read WalletHub's full piece on property taxes state-by-state.