Oklahoma is ranked No. 24 on the list of low property taxes, according to the 2019 Property Tax report by Wallet.hub.com.

Yet Oklahoma has the fourth lowest median home value at $125,800, only above Arkansas ($118,500), West Virginia ($111,600) and Mississippi ($109,300). Hawaii has the highest median home value at $563,900.

According to WalletHub, each year, the average American household spends $2,279 on real-estate property taxes plus another $440 for residents of the 27 states with vehicle property taxes. With such high costs, it’s no surprise that more than $14 billion in property taxes go unpaid each year, according to the National Tax Lien Association.

And though property taxes might appear to be a non-issue for the 36 percent of renter households, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Everyone pays property taxes, whether directly or indirectly, as they impact rent as well as the finances of state and local governments.

Hawaii has the lowest real-estate tax, $525, which is nine times lower than in New Jersey, the state with the highest at $4,725. 

 Twenty-seven states levy some form of vehicle property tax. Of those states, Louisiana has the lowest, $24.33, which is 44 times lower than in Rhode Island, the state with the highest at $1,070.48. 

 Blue States have 19.84 percent higher real-estate property taxes, averaging $2,399, than Red States, averaging $2,002.

High property taxes do discourage people when they look to relocate.

“The mass exodus from high-taxed states, like California and New York, to lower taxed states, like Arizona and Texas, demonstrate that people absolutely do consider property taxes in deciding where to move,” said Associate Law Professor John Plecnik of Cleveland (Ohio) State University. “If you don’t, you should, because you’ll pay either way. The new rules under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 make the difference between high- and low-taxed states even starker.

“Taxpayers used to be able to deduct all of their state and local property taxes, lessening the bite of a higher local tax rate. Under the new section 164(b)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code, your deduction for state and local taxes is limited to a maximum of $10,000. What’s more, you can only take this deduction if you itemize, and far fewer people will be able itemize under the new rules.

“In other words, for the vast majority of taxpayers, there is no available deduction for state and local taxes. For the remaining few, their deduction is severely limited.”

Raising taxes can be risky for a city.

“Local tax policy is very much about the competition,” said Plecnik. “One state or city can’t charge several times the tax rate of its neighbors for long without losing residents and businesses. Unfortunately, a lot of local elected officials view tax increases as a magical fix, when in reality, raising taxes to unsustainable levels inevitably leads to population declines and lower revenue.”

There are those who think that the government should not tax private homes.

“Ohio provides a homestead exemption to reduce the property taxes of low income seniors and those who are totally and permanently disabled,” Plecnik said. “Other states do as well. However, there is a strong argument to be made that – subject to value limits – everyone’s personal residence should be at least partially exempt from property taxes. Just as we provide a standard deduction under the federal income tax for subsistence, everyone needs a place to live, and taxing personal residences ultimately discourages home ownership.”