Complete report in PDF format

Western New York property owners pay the state’s highest median effective tax rate, according to newly released data from the Empire Center. The internet-based tool—BenchmarkingNY’s Property Taxes by Location—allows taxpayers to compute and compare total school district, municipal and county tax burdens in thousands of communities across the state.

The Center also issued its annual summary ranking the “Top 20” and “Bottom 20” effective tax rates in every region of the state, along with a ranking of effective tax rates in cities. The rankings are based on data from the state comptroller’s office and New York State Association of Realtors Housing Survey.

“With school budget votes just two weeks away, its important for voters to understand what their tax rates are and how that rate relates to what others in their region and in the state are paying. BenchmarkingNY makes it easy for taxpayers to make those comparisons,” said Empire Center director Tim Hoefer.

As reflected in the Empire Center rankings, New York’s highest effective property tax rates are imposed in cities and rural areas with low property values, while the lowest effective rates are found in resort communities and wealthy areas with very high property values.

Highlights of the report’s findings include the following:

For a second consecutive year, the Village of Wellsville in Allegany County has the highest effective tax rate in the state. At $63.51 per $1,000, the Wellsville rate is 77 percent higher than the Western New York median of $35.94 and more than double the statewide median of $30.17.

The lowest-taxed community in the state is the Village of Sagaponack in Long Island’s Hamptons, which had an effective rate of just $1.19 per $1,000. Sagoponack also was the lowest-taxed community in last year’s survey.

Residents of the city of Gloversville and Gloversville school district in the Mohawk Valley pay the highest property taxes found in any city in New York State, with an effective rate of $52.40 per $1,000.

The Rye School District portion of the City of Rye in Westchester County is the lowest-taxed area within cities, with an effective rate of $14.46 per $1,000.

The Property Taxes by Location and Local Government Budgets & Revenues tools are part of BenchmarkingNY, one of the many features of SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Nassau County on Long Island and New York City impose different tax rates on different classes of property and are therefore excluded from calculations and rankings.

Download the summary ranking, including “Top 20” and “Bottom 20” tax rates by region, click here.

To visit BenchmarkingNY’s Property Taxes by Location tool, click here.