Schenectady, Albany and the Scotia-Glenville area top the Capital Region for the amount of property taxes that people pay compared to their home values, according to a recent analysis that found wide discrepancies regionally and across the state.

Schenectady residents bear an annual property tax burden of $6,984 for homes with a median price of $160,250.

Albany property owners are close behind with a bill of $8,542 on a median property value of $205,000 according to data by the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank that monitors government costs and taxes.

In terms of the rate per $1,000 of value, Schenectady is $43.58 while Albany is $41.67.

On the other end of the spectrum, people living in tiny Edinburg, in a rural section of Saratoga County. pay only $1,986 on a median-priced $221,700 home, for a rate of $8.96 per $1,000. Residents of Hague, in Warren County, get by with a median $1,783 property tax bill for a home valued at $194,000, or a rate of $9.19/$1,000.

The study looked at ”effective tax rates,” or the amount of property taxes compared to a home’s value.

The study, from the fiscally conservative Empire Center, comes with a few caveats. It’s based on 2013 data from the state comptroller, and on a statewide comparison, excludes Long Island’s Nassau County and New York City where in both cases a complex and multi-tiered system of property classifications makes comparisons difficult.

And in some cases, such as Albany, the rate is a blend of residential and higher commercial rates.

Regardless, the survey illustrates New York state’s extraordinarily high property tax costs, as well as the huge variations within the state that can be based on multiple factors.

Based on the numbers, it’s clear that living in a city like Schenectady, population 66,000, with its full scale fire and police departments, and sizeable school district (school taxes generally consume roughly two thirds of most tax bills) is far costlier than in a small community like Edinburg, population 1,400, with minimal services and a small school district.

News of Schenectady’s top tax ranking isn’t new — the surrounding Schenectady County has appeared in other surveys placing it in the top 25 nationally.

Mayor Gary McCarthy blamed part of the problem on state formulas for municipal aid and school financing that are short-changing the city, given the challenges they face.

“It’s frustrating to be on those lists. In New York state everybody knows that taxes are too high,” he said.

He added that he’s pushed to contain costs, and noted the city’s bond rating in November was upgraded from “negative” to “stable” status.

In Edinburg, a town official chalked up the low rates to frugality. “She’s pretty frugal,” town Clerk Denise Ferguson said of Supervisor Jean Raymond. “Everyone is frugal.”

Raymond couldn’t be reached as she was headed to an auction of taxes that had been foreclosed for back taxes. Edinburg included just two small parcels along a back road.

Tax auctions, in which counties sell of homes or properties that have been seized for unpaid taxes are a common occurrence across the state, but the disparity in tax rates is striking, noted the study’s authors.

“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.”

Others said the disparities support the need for a circuit breaker, where homeowners would get an income tax reduction if they pay a certain percentage of their earnings toward property taxes.

Areas with low home prices, for example, tend to be inhabited by more poor people, and the proportionately high rates can make it hard for them to remain in their homes.

“Taxes are different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and these wild fluctuations are exactly why we need a circuit breaker,’ said Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a labor-backed think tank.

“These taxes are based on market rate of (a) house and have nothing to do with the individual’s ability to pay.”

The disparity seen in the Capital Region can be replicated across the state.

Statewide, the study found the lowest rate per thousand was in Long Island’s Southampton, Suffolk County, with a rate of $5.79 per $1,000, yielding a $3,415 tax bill on a median-priced $589,400 home.

The highest rates were literally on the other side of the state in the Cheektowaga, Erie County, village of Sloan, where homeowners pay $64.67 per $1,000 for a bill of $4,766 on a median priced home of $73,700.

The lowest city rate was in Rye, Westchester County, with a median rate of $17.03 with a median home price of $545,200 and a bill of $9,284.

Highest city rates were in Binghamton with a rate of $58.28 per $1,000, or $4,959 a year for a home at the local median value of $85,100.

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

In percentage terms, that Binghamton homeowner is paying nearly 6 percent of that home’s value in taxes every year — compared to a national average of 1.4 percent, according to Zillow, a website which tracks the real estate market.

© 2015 Albany Times Union

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