Texas cities top highest property tax burden list

TEXAS — Over the next couple of weeks, Texas homeowners will begin to receive appraisal notices in the mail, which let property owners know the estimated market value of their property as of Jan. 1, 2026.

SmartAsset, a New York-based financial technology company and personal finance publisher, ranked nearly 400 of the largest U.S. cities based on the percentage of a homeowner’s income going to property taxes each year. 

Here’s a look at how some Texas cities ranked in the study.

Mesquite is No. 76 on that list but there are several Texas cities that rank in the top 20—like Grand Prairie, which ranks No. 18 out of 343 cities ranked by SmartAsset.

Grand Prairie, just west of Dallas, crosses three counties: Dallas, Tarrant and Ellis counties. It’s the only North Texas city that made the top 20 list for property tax burden in the nationwide study. It’s a burden Grand Prairie resident Maria Morales said she can attest to.

“The property taxes are very high. We did do the exemption, but they’re still too high being in the property, being in Lake Ridge, even living in Lake Ridge. But houses are not that expensive over there. But it’s just where the property is. Makes it expensive,” said Morales.

The study showed that more than 5% of Morales’s and other homeowners’ income goes toward property taxes.

That is the same case for Edinburg in South Texas, Georgetown in Central Texas and Conroe, north of Houston, which came in 14th, 15th and 16th.

Forty-five Texas cities made the list overall.

“We looked at more than three dozen cities in Texas as part of our 343-city national study of the cities in Texas. We looked six appeared in the top 25 nationally,” said Toby Nelson, a SmartAsset spokesperson.

Nelson said the 2024 data for this study came from the most recent American Community Survey, an annual statistical project of the U.S. Census Bureau.

The company is doing this case study for the first time and says it won’t be the last.

“When one purchases a home, the costs associated with homeownership go beyond just mortgage. They include things like home, homeowner’s insurance premiums, property taxes, maintenance. And so, property taxes is a big component of homeownership. And as the national conversation looks at the cost of homeownership and the escalating cost of homeownership was a very salient topic to examine for us,” said Nelson.

The cost of homeownership is a burden Anna resident Brian Pino said he questions frequently and whether it’s even worth the hassle.

“About every other month actually, I go through the ups and downs like everybody else, and about every other month I think about potentially selling and moving to an apartment and moving out of state. I love Texas, been here for 13 years, and I don’t want to leave the state, but I might have to,” said Pino.

Last summer, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law legislation providing property tax relief for Texans.

That included House Bill 9, which increases the business personal property tax exemption from $2,500 to $125,000; Senate Bill 4, which increases the mandatory school district residence homestead exemption to $140,000; and Senate Bill 23, which increases the mandatory school district residence homestead exemption for people over 65 and disabled Texans to $200,000.

The new laws are a benefit, Arlington resident Becky Rogers said.

“Well, it’d be much more difficult,” said Rogers.

Spectrum News reached out to some cities on the list for comment.

Edinburg declined, Grand Prairie became unavailable but Georgetown and Fort Worth representatives gave statements opposing the study and defending their city and its efforts.

Fort Worth said, “City property taxes represent only a portion of a homeowner’s tax bill. Property owners will also see assessments from their school district, county and special districts like hospitals and colleges. Each taxing entity sets their own tax rates and exemptions in accordance with State law.

“In the City of Fort Worth, property tax revenue is a major source of revenue to the General Fund, the portion of the City’s overall budget that covers police and fire services, public works, community services such as libraries and parks, and other essential City operations. Property taxes account for more than half of the City’s General Fund revenues.

“When setting the City’s property tax rate, City leadership weighs costs and benefits, both in terms of impact to residents and the City’s ability to provide services. The City Council has lowered the tax rate eight times in the past nine years. The rate has decreased from 85.50 cents per $100 assessed valuation in FY2016 to 67 cents per $100 assessed valuation in FY2026.

“The City of Fort Worth offers a 20% exemption on property taxes for primary residences, the maximum allowed by state law. To further aid property owners, an additional $80,000 exemption is available to homeowners who are disabled or aged 65+. This exemption was increased from $60,000 in FY 2025 and $40,000 in FY2024.

“Looking ahead, the city is planning for constrained revenue growth influenced by the Tarrant Appraisal District reappraisal plan, and other economic factors.

“Council meetings and workshops dealing with the FY27 budget and tax rate begin this spring. Among other topics, these discussions will include analysis of the cumulative cost-of-living impact of taxes, rates and fees on Fort Worth residents.”

Georgetown called the study flawed, saying in part: “It appears they are relying on information residents provided (to the Census) regarding their property tax information, instead of looking up the property taxes people pay, which is publicly available information from the taxing entities.”

“So, it’s important to look to understand that we did not look at property tax rates in any specific city. We looked at what homeowners are paying as a percentage of their income from city to city. So even if a property tax rates are low in a specific municipality or taxing district, that may not reflect in terms of how much of a consumer’s income they’re paying in property taxes,” said Nelson.

Back in Grand Prairie, Morales said she plans to protest her property taxes later this year. 

“Everybody is in the same, you know, boat,” said Morales.