4 Illinois Cities Have The Highest Property Taxes In The Country

You read that headline correctly. The highest property taxes in the country. Not just in Illinois, not just in the Midwest, not just among states that begin with the letter I. The highest property taxes in the whole country.

As you probably already know, Illinois has lead (or has been very near the top) the United States in outbound migration, which is a fancy way of saying "residents leaving the state to find a better life and a better future."

When those who packed up and left are asked why they chose to leave Illinois for another state, the number-one reason given (by far) was just one word: Taxes.

Let's take a look at which four Illinois cities are extracting the highest property taxes in America, starting with the Illinois city that sits at the top spot:

Rockford, Illinois Is The Heaviest-Taxing Place In The Country When Measured As A Share Of Home Value

For a number of years, Chicago was known as the Second City as a nod to their overall population ranking behind New York, and Rockford was known as Illinois' Second City because the city trailed only Chicago in overall population.

Now, Chicago is the nation's 3rd largest city (after New York and LA), and Rockford is the 5th largest city in Illinois, behind Chicago, Aurora, Joliet, and Naperville.

The weird thing is that when it comes to the highest property taxes, Rockford is not only number-one in Illinois, it's also number-one in the country. Chicago, now the third largest city, is number-two in the nation when it comes to the highest property taxes.

Here Are The Other Illinois Cities That Really Squeeze The Property Taxes Out Of Their Residents

According to a new report by AttomData.com, Illinois has more than our share of cities with really high property taxes, starting with Rockford:

• The average Rockford resident pays nearly 2.1% of their home value in property taxes every year (about $4,500). Last year Rockford had the nation’s second-highest taxes, beaten only by Akron, Ohio.
• The Chicago metro area took 2nd-place with an effective rate of 1.91% and a tax bill of nearly $7,800.
• Peoria took 3rd in the nation with a rate of 1.89% and Champaign-Urbana took 4th with 1.88%.
• The Springfield area took 6th-place, beaten out by 5th place Trenton, New Jersey.
• Illinois also has 27 of the 50 highest county property taxes in the country.

Wirepoints.org:

Just like last year, Illinois took the top spot among the 50 states, with an effective average property tax rate of 1.87%. And again, all of Illinois’ neighbors sported far lower rates. Illinois’ rate is 2 times that of Indiana’s and 2.5 times that of Missouri and Kentucky’s.