A new Consumer Affairs report this month has revealed which areas of the U.S. have suffered major property tax hikes relative to home values.
And it turns out several metro areas in Florida are on that list.
WHAT DOES THE REPORT LOOK AT?
Researchers said they looked at the 100 largest metro areas in the country using U.S. Census Bureau data from 2022 – 2024.
More specifically, they examined the percent change in median property taxes versus the percent change in median home values, ranking cities based on which areas had the greatest difference.
“The 10 metros with the widest gap between property tax growth and home value growth are all in the South or West, with a few states featured more than once,” the report reads. “Florida has three metros in the top 10, while Colorado and California each have two.”
The top-ranked metro nationally turned out to be the Lakeland-Winter Haven area.
In fact, the report shows that the Lakeland metro area had:
- 28.1% property tax growth (2022-2024)
- 14.2% home value growth (2022-2024)
- 13.9 percentage point gap for property tax vs. home value
“No metro pulled further ahead than Lakeland-Winter Haven. Between 2022 and 2024, the typical homeowner’s property tax bill jumped 28.1%, nearly triple the national increase of 10.6%. Home values went up too, by 14.2%, but that wasn’t enough to keep pace with the tax hike.
The picture looks different over five years instead of two, though. Property taxes rose 78.6% from 2019 to 2024. Home values rose at a similar rate, 74.1%. That’s only a 4.5 percentage point gap — much smaller than the 13.9 percentage point gap from 2022 to 2024. So the divergence looks new, not like a trend that’s been building for a while.
Homeowners here may see a change soon. A constitutional amendment headed to Florida’s November 3, 2026, ballot would raise the state’s homestead exemption for nonschool taxes from $25,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. At the time of publication, the amendment has not yet gone before voters.”
ConsumerAffairs, “Where Property Taxes Are Rising Faster Than Home Values (2026)”
Lakeland wasn’t the only metro to score high on the list, though. Jacksonville came in close behind at No. 2; Palm Bay at No. 6; and Cape Coral at No. 11.
The top 50 cities ranked on the list are as follows:
| Rank | Metro | State | Property tax v. home value gap (2022-2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeland-Winter Haven | FL | 13.97 pp |
| 2 | Jacksonville | FL | 13.6 pp |
| 3 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial | CO | 13.4 pp |
| 4 | Colorado Springs | CO | 12.6 pp |
| 5 | Birmingham | AL | 11.0 pp |
| 6 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville | FL | 10.1 pp |
| 7 | Provo-Orem-Lehi | UT | 9.9 pp |
| 8 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont | CA | 9.8 pp |
| 9 | Stockton-Lodi | CA | 9.8 pp |
| 10 | Urban Honolulu | HI | 9.8 pp |
| 11 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers | FL | 9.0 pp |
| 12 | Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas | NV | 8.2 pp |
| 13 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood | IN | 8.0 pp |
| 14 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota | FL | 8.0 pp |
| 15 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | CA | 7.9 pp |
| 16 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | FL | 7.7 pp |
| 17 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | GA | 7.7 pp |
| 18 | Raleigh-Cary | NC | 7.2 pp |
| 19 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | NC-SC | 6.5 pp |
| 20 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | WA | 6.4 pp |
| 21 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach | FL | 5.8 pp |
| 22 | Ogden | UT | 5.8 pp |
| 23 | Spokane-Spokane Valley | WA | 5.5 pp |
| 24 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | MN-WI | 5.4 pp |
| 25 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | FL | 4.6 pp |
| 26 | Kansas City | MO-KS | 4.2 pp |
| 27 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | DC-VA-MD-WV | 3.1 pp |
| 28 | Louisville/Jefferson County | KY-IN | 3.0 pp |
| 29 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro | OR-WA | 2.9 pp |
| 30 | Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario | CA | 2.7 pp |
| 31 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | TX | 2.6 pp |
| 32 | Fresno | CA | 2.6 pp |
| 33 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | CA | 2.4 pp |
| 34 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | CA | 1.7 pp |
| 35 | Bakersfield-Delano | CA | 1.6 pp |
| 36 | Richmond | VA | 1.4 pp |
| 37 | Omaha | NE-IA | 1.4 pp |
| 38 | Salt Lake City-Murray | UT | 1.4 pp |
| 39 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | VA-NC | 1.2 pp |
| 40 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | CA | 1.0 pp |
| 41 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | FL | 0.5 pp |
| 42 | Tucson | AZ | 0.4 pp |
| 43 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin | TN | 0.4 pp |
| 44 | Oklahoma City | OK | 0.2 pp |
| 45 | Baton Rouge | LA | 0.05 pp |
| 46 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | CA | 0.04 pp |
| 47 | New Orleans-Metairie | LA | -0.7 pp |
| 48 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | MD | -0.8 pp |
| 49 | Cincinnati | OH-KY-IN | -1.2 pp |
| 50 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | AZ | -2.0 pp |
PROPERTY TAX REFORM?
The issue of property taxes is especially prevalent in Florida right now, with a new tax reform proposal set to appear on the ballot during next month’s general election.
That proposal — Amendment 3 — provides a new homestead exemption for non-school taxes for residents in the state.
Current homestead exemption rules in the state operate as follows, with two different brackets of assessed value being tax exempt:
| Assessed Value | Application of Homestead Exemption (Current) |
|---|---|
| The first $25,000 | Exempt from all property tax |
| –> $50,000 | Fully taxable |
| –> $75,000 | Exempt from non-school taxes |
| Remaining value | Taxable, though other exemptions may apply |
But under Amendment 3, the exemptions would apply solely to non-school taxes, though the exempted amount would raise dramatically:
- 2027 — First $150,000 of assessed value
- 2028 — First $250,000 of assessed value
- 2029 onward — First $250,000 of assessed value, indexed to inflation
However, this only applies to homeowners who are permanent residents of Florida before the proposed amendment takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027 (if it gets approved, that is). For newcomers, the timeline is a bit different.
However, this only applies to homeowners who are permanent residents of Florida before the proposed amendment takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027 (if it gets approved, that is). For newcomers, the timeline is a bit different.
Amendment 3 instead provides new residents with a five-year homestead exemption that comes out as follows:
| Assessed Value | Application of Homestead Exemption (Proposed) |
|---|---|
| The first $25,000 | Exempt from school taxes |
| –> $50,000 | Exempt from non-school taxes |
| Remaining value | Taxable |
After this five-year period, the new residents will then be eligible for the higher exemption.
Meanwhile, the amendment also reduces the annual non-homestead property assessment growth cap from 10% to 5%, limiting how much these sorts of properties may be assessed each year.
In addition, the plan limits how local governments may spend property tax revenue:
- Public safety, including law enforcement, EMS and fire services
- Education and public schools
- Infrastructure, including roads, bridges and stormwater controls
- Natural resource projects, including flood control measures
- Issue local bonds for approved uses or to make debt service payments
- Meet obligations and retirement benefits of local government employees
- Fund the operations and administration of county officers and commissioners
While the amendment has been approved by lawmakers, it will still need 60% approval from voters in the general election on Nov. 3.