Binghamton had the highest effective property tax rate of any city in New York as of 2013, according to the Empire Center’s latest annual Benchmarking NY report, released today.

Benchmarking NY uses data from the state comptroller’s office to calculate effective tax rates–combined county, municipal and school taxes as a percent of market value–for thousands of localities across the state, excluding only New York City and Nassau County. (Due to changes in the comptroller’s data-gathering process, the Benchmarking NY information also does not include some fire district taxes.)

Binghamton’s effective rate came to $58.28 per $1,000, or $4,959 a year for a home at Binghamton’s local median value of $85,100.

The city with the lowest all-in property tax rate was Rye, in Westchester County, at $19.20 per $1,000. In absolute terms, taxes for Rye and other downstate municipalities were much higher due to very high property values, however.

Among all types of jurisdictions, the highest property tax was found in the village of Sloan, in Erie County, which had an effective rate of $64.67 per $1,000. The lowest rate was $4.57 in the Suffolk County village of Southampton.

“There’s no question that New Yorkers pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, but the burden can vary widely even among neighboring jurisdictions,” said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center. “By making it easier to compare taxes in different localities, we hope to encourage local taxpayers and elected officials to search for ways of reducing taxes and spending.”

The complete report, posted here, includes a list of the top and bottom 20 tax rates in each of the state’s nine regions outside New York City. The full database has also been added to the Empire Center’s Property Tax Calculator, which can be used to compare taxes on homes of different values in different communities across the state.

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