West Suburban Homeowners Feel Property Tax Pinch

An analysis of effective property tax rates in 35 communities in Chicago’s West Suburbs shows homeowners there paying property tax rates significantly higher than the national average.

In Maywood, property owners paid an effective property tax rate of 3.96% according to an analysis of real estate sales data compiled by the Local Government Information Service, which publishes West Cook News. The rate, based on a median home price of $125,000, was more than three times the national effective rate of 1.19%.

The effective tax rate is a measure of the median tax paid as a percentage of the median home price.  Other West Suburban neighborhoods are feeling the pinch as well, from Elmwood Park, where the median property tax rate was 2.15%, to Oak Park where the effective tax rate was nearly 3%. After Maywood, Countryside and River Grove paid the next highest effective property tax rates at 3.2% and 3.19%, respectively, the newspaper reported.

Illinois Property Owners Pay Second Highest Tax Rate in the Country

While some neighborhoods have it worse than others, the data is consistent with effective property tax rates statewide. Illinois property owners pay the second-highest property tax rate in the country with an effective median rate of 2.32%. Only in New Jersey do property taxes take a bigger bite.  Meanwhile, to the east, Indiana property owners pay an effective median rate of just 0.89 percent.

You can find the full list of West Suburban tax rates here.

Don’t Pay More than Your Fair Share of Property Taxes

A home is the single largest investment most people will ever make. If you’re facing taxes based on an inflated value of your property, your investment takes the hit year after year after year.

After you have applied for all of the exemptions for which your home is eligible, appealing your property’s assessed value is the only way to be sure you are not paying too much.

At Kensington we have been helping Chicago area property owners protect their investments for decades, with deep expertise in the process and a proprietary algorithm that we use to identify the strongest possible grounds for appeal. We maintain an up-to-date database of the same property information that the assessor collects and we have a precise formula for identifying the comparable properties that will assist with the case.

Contact us for a free, no obligation assessment of your property tax situation and we will provide you with a precise analysis of how much you may be able to save with an appeal. There is no obligation to use our services, but if you do, you pay nothing unless you win.

Don’t let property taxes diminish the value of your investment. Call today and find out whether you’re paying too much.

Get Your Free Property Tax Reduction Estimate