Methodology

This page documents exactly how every figure on TaxByCity is produced, what it means, and where it comes from. If we can't show you the calculation and the source, we don't publish the number.

Property tax (effective rate)

Formula: effective rate = median annual real-estate taxes paid ÷ median home value, for owner-occupied homes.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table B25103 (mortgage status + median real-estate taxes) combined with B25077 (median home value). County rates are mapped to individual ZIP codes by the county that overlaps each ZIP's largest land area.

Why effective rate? Nominal "mill rate" figures sound precise but don't reflect what owners actually pay after exemptions and assessment practices. Effective rate measures the real-world burden as a share of home value, which is what matters when you compare one place to another.

Income

Formula: median household income (B19013) and per-capita income (B19301), from the same ACS 5-year release.

Note on medians: the median is the middle household — half earn more, half less. It is intentionally used over the average because a few very high incomes skew an average upward and no longer describe a typical household.

State income tax

Source: Tax Foundation state individual income-tax rates and brackets (2026). Brackets are applied as graduated tiers in the calculator — you are not taxed at your top marginal rate on every dollar.

Sales tax

Source: Tax Foundation state and local combined rates (2026), resolved to ZIP-code precision where the data supports it. Combined rate = state rate + applicable county, city, and district rates.

Estate & transfer tax

Source: Tax Foundation tables and state revenue-department statutes. Where a state imposes a graduated range rather than a single rate (for example, on some transfer taxes), we report the range rather than a misleadingly precise single number.

Federal tax & the calculator

Source: IRS Revenue Procedure 2024-40 (tax year 2025, filed 2026) for brackets and the standard deduction, plus current-year FICA rates and wage bases. The take-home-pay calculator applies the real graduated federal and state brackets, the standard deduction, and FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to the wage base, Medicare 1.45%, plus the 0.9% additional Medicare tax above the income threshold) — not a flat top-rate approximation.

Local income tax

Source: Tax Foundation "Local Income Taxes" research, plus municipal and state department citations for the largest taxing jurisdictions, reported on the relevant state pages.

Review cadence & limitations

Datasets are revisited at least annually, and every page carries the "as of" date of the figures on it. Census data reflects a rolling 5-year window, so it trades some timeliness for much larger samples and reliable small-area estimates. This site provides estimates for comparison, not a substitute for official tax records or professional advice. Last reviewed by Jarrod Gravison, September 2026.