Texans have voiced concerns about high property tax rates and as the gubernatorial race winds down, both candidates have put the matter high on their agenda.
Their solutions for easing the problem, though, are very different.
During a September debate, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott promised to use state budget revenues to buy down property tax burdens for homeowners.
“Texas is sitting on a $27 Billion SURPLUS because of our record setting revenue,” Abbott said in a recent tweet. “We will use much of it to deliver the largest property tax cut in Texas history.”
Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke suggested increasing the tax burden on commercial properties, adding new revenue streams such as legal marijuana, and expanding medicaid.
Texans are not wrong when they think they’re paying higher rates than people in other states. TaxRates.org reports that Texas’ median effective residential property tax rate in 2022 is 1.81%. Median effective tax rate is a measure of the percent of a home’s market value that is collected by taxing authorities, meaning any tax exemptions on the property are factored into determining the rate.
California and Florida — two states often compared to Texas because the three are the most populous — both have lower effective property tax rates than the Lone Star State, with rates at 0.74% and 0.97% respectively.
World Population Review says about 64% of Texans live in the 12 most populous of Texas’ 254 counties. These regions include the major metropolitan areas of Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and El Paso. Travis County, home to the capitol of Austin, has a population of over 1.3 million which has grown over 30% from 2010.
TaxRates.org statistics show each of these 12 most populous counties have property tax rates higher than the statewide average. Travis County has a rate of 1.98%, 9% higher that the statewide figure.
