Iowa Homeowners Are Paying Way Too Much Money In Property Taxes

It's kind of shocking when you find out how high property taxes are in Iowa unless you own a home here. If you do, then news like this shouldn't come as a surprise and while you might want people to feel sorry for you, it's your fault you still live in Iowa.

The amount that a homeowner pays in property taxes every year in Iowa seems ridiculous. Iowa has had one of the highest property tax rates in the U.S. and it doesn't look like it's going down. It's not as high as people who live in other Midwestern states, but the percentage rate is pretty up there.

How many are Iowans paying property taxes compared to the rest of America? For now, let's say it's much more than most of America.

Where Your Property Taxes Go In Iowa

If you have a really good education system and schools in your community, you can at least see where most of it goes. If you don't have that in your Iowa town, you need to start questioning your local and county governments.

The Iowa Department of Revenue says that property taxes are collected at the local level and distributed to the taxing district that requested the tax. School districts get the largest portion of property taxes.

Iowa Pays Too Much In Property Taxes

Like, way too much. WalletHub released its list of states that pay the most and the least amount of property taxes for 2024. Iowa doesn't pay the most, it pays the 10th most in the U.S.

Source: WalletHub

Iowa sits right behind its neighboring states of Illinois and Wisconsin as the state with the 10th-highest property taxes. The average property tax rate is 1.49% and on a house that's $200k, you're looking at paying $2,980. By the way, the average cost of a home in Iowa is about $181,600.

Property Taxes Aren't Going Down

As a matter of fact, they are going up. Iowa has been in the middle of the pack for the better part of a decade. Recently, Iowa just bumped up to be among the states with residents paying the highest property taxes in the U.S.