Austin property taxes vs Texas cities: How much homeowners pay

Texas is known for relatively high property taxes — driven in part by the absence of a state income tax — but the burden varies widely by city.

Edinburg ranked highest among Texas cities at No. 14 nationwide. In that South Texas city, homeowners with a mortgage spend about 5.3% of their income on property taxes, with a median annual bill of $4,366.

Here’s how Texas’ largest cities compare.

Among the state’s biggest cities, Fort Worth ranked highest at No. 24 nationally, followed by El Paso (No. 28) and San Antonio (No. 35).

Austin ranked No. 42, with homeowners paying about 4.7% of income toward property taxes. The median annual property tax bill in Austin is $8,172 — among the highest on the list.

Other major cities include:

In total, 27 Texas cities ranked among the top 100 for property tax burden.

Behind Edinburg, Georgetown (No. 15), Conroe (No. 16) and Grand Prairie (No. 18) were among the highest-ranked in the state.

Closer to Austin, Round Rock (No. 86) and Georgetown (No. 15) also made the list.

At the lower end, Tyler (2.7%), Amarillo (3.2%) and Abilene (3.2%) had the smallest property tax burdens among Texas cities included in the study.

Which U.S. cities have the highest property taxes?

Nationally, Paterson, N.J. ranked No. 1, with property taxes consuming 9.8% of income.

Several Northeast cities dominated the top of the list, including Bridgeport, Conn. (7.4%) and Waterbury, Conn. (7.1%).