December 17, 2015
This annual report compares estimated effective property tax rates in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois between 2004 and 2013, the last year for which data are available. Among the 12 selected Cook County communities that the Civic Federation analyzed, Harvey had the highest effective tax rate for residential properties at 8.08% in tax year 2013, and Chicago had the lowest residential rate in Cook County at 1.66% and the second-lowest of all 29 communities included in the study.
The Civic Federation also found that while all 12 selected Cook County communities experienced increases in their composite property tax rates in 2013 over 2012, estimated residential effective property tax rates declined for all communities analyzed but one.
The full report also analyzes trends for selected communities in the collar counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will and McHenry. All collar county communities analyzed experienced significant estimated effective property tax rate increases between 2004 and 2013, ranging from a 25.4% increase in the portion of Naperville located in Will County to a 117.1% increase in Waukegan.
For the first time, this year’s report also includes maps showing 2013 effective tax rates.