An eye-opening report by the Tax Foundation ranked U.S. counties according to property taxes as a percentage of home value. New York State counties took the top 15 spots on the list — Orleans was rated the highest, with median property taxes at nearly three percent of median home value between 2007 and 2009. Out of the top 25 counties, 22 were in New York and approximately one out of every three counties making the “top 100” list was located in our state.
| County | State | Median Property Taxes Paid on Homes | Rank | Median Home Value | Taxes as Percent of Home Value | Rank | Median Household Income | Taxes as Percent of Income | Rank | Rank of % of home value |
| Orleans County | New York | $2,610 | 212 | $87,200 | 2.99% | 1 | $53,577 | 4.87% | 73 | 1 |
| Niagara County | New York | $2,773 | 173 | $97,900 | 2.83% | 1 | $56,479 | 4.91% | 71 | 2 |
| Monroe County | New York | $3,658 | 78 | $131,800 | 2.78% | 2 | $66,584 | 5.49% | 52 | 3 |
| Allegany County | New York | $1,778 | 495 | $66,100 | 2.69% | 3 | $47,633 | 3.73% | 234 | 4 |
| Wayne County | New York | $2,899 | 151 | $108,700 | 2.67% | 4 | $60,971 | 4.75% | 81 | 5 |
| Cortland County | New York | $2,501 | 243 | $94,800 | 2.64% | 5 | $54,656 | 4.58% | 93 | 6 |
| Genesee County | New York | $2,645 | 204 | $101,200 | 2.61% | 6 | $58,045 | 4.56% | 98 | 7 |
| Chautauqua County | New York | $2,049 | 358 | $79,500 | 2.58% | 7 | $50,650 | 4.05% | 172 | 8 |
| Seneca County | New York | $2,278 | 289 | $88,900 | 2.56% | 8 | $51,052 | 4.46% | 115 | 9 |
| Wyoming County | New York | $2,371 | 271 | $94,600 | 2.51% | 9 | $55,637 | 4.26% | 139 | 10 |
| Montgomery County | New York | $2,408 | 263 | $96,900 | 2.49% | 10 | $53,399 | 4.51% | 104 | 11 |
| Onondaga County | New York | $3,061 | 130 | $124,400 | 2.46% | 11 | $66,894 | 4.58% | 92 | 12 |
| Erie County | New York | $2,885 | 155 | $117,400 | 2.46% | 12 | $62,219 | 4.64% | 88 | 13 |
| Livingston County | New York | $2,784 | 171 | $114,800 | 2.43% | 13 | $61,819 | 4.50% | 108 | 14 |
| Cayuga County | New York | $2,380 | 267 | $100,600 | 2.37% | 14 | $56,379 | 4.22% | 147 | 15 |
| Camden County | New Jersey | $5,384 | 21 | $228,200 | 2.36% | 15 | $77,108 | 6.98% | 12 | 16 |
| Cattaraugus County | New York | $1,811 | 478 | $77,900 | 2.32% | 16 | $49,053 | 3.69% | 246 | 17 |
| Oswego County | New York | $2,074 | 350 | $89,400 | 2.32% | 17 | $55,667 | 3.73% | 237 | 18 |
| Fort Bend County | Texas | $4,033 | 56 | $174,800 | 2.31% | 18 | $92,610 | 4.35% | 126 | 19 |
| Chemung County | New York | $2,019 | 370 | $87,700 | 2.30% | 19 | $54,987 | 3.67% | 249 | 20 |
| Steuben County | New York | $1,906 | 424 | $82,800 | 2.30% | 20 | $50,771 | 3.75% | 228 | 21 |
| Winnebago County | Illinois | $2,916 | 148 | $129,400 | 2.25% | 21 | $60,901 | 4.79% | 77 | 22 |
| Madison County | New York | $2,523 | 234 | $112,700 | 2.24% | 22 | $60,050 | 4.20% | 150 | 23 |
| Schenectady County | New York | $3,641 | 80 | $163,000 | 2.23% | 23 | $67,899 | 5.36% | 54 | 24 |
| Broome County | New York | $2,260 | 295 | $101,300 | 2.23% | 24 | $57,499 | 3.93% | 196 | 25 |
The complete Tax Foundation report can be found here.
Source: U.S. Census data, calculated by the Tax Foundation
April 2011