Think your city of Des Moines property taxes are high? Study confirms they are indeed
Homeowners in the city of Des Moines frequently grumble that their taxes are high. According to a new analysis, they're right.
According to the findings, Des Moines ranks 22nd for the highest property taxes in proportion to home value among the 330 U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 or more. Smartasset, a New York-based real estate think tank, used U.S. Census Bureau data to compile the list.
How were the figures calculated?
The analysis ranked cities by the median real estate taxes homeowners paid as a proportion of median home value. In Des Moines the median home value was $171,800, the median homeowner paid $3,465 in real estate taxes, or 2.02% of the home's value.
Devin Perry, a spokesperson for the city, said that the numbers appear in line with city figures.
Which other Iowa cities are on the list?
Two other Iowa cities ranked in the top 100 for property taxes: Cedar Rapids was No. 40, with taxes at 1.79% of value, and Davenport, No. 52, at 1.69%.
More: Polk County property tax assessment appeals are getting harder to win. What are best tactics?
Why are Des Moines' taxes so high?
The analysis appeared to support the most-frequently cited reason for Des Moines' high taxes: As a state capital, it has a high proportion ― 40% ― of its property tied up in tax-exempt uses, such as government buildings and the offices of government-oriented nonprofits. That places more of the tax burden on residential property owners. In fact, 12 or the 32 state capitals large enough to be included on the list, or almost 40%, were among the top 100 cities on the Smartasset list.
More: Polk County voters will decide whether to borrow $350M for Des Moines airport terminal
Also well represented in the top 100 were other categories of cities with large swaths of tax-exempt property, including college towns like Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the 50,000-plus enrollment University of Michigan, and those with large military installations like No. 19 San Antonio, Texas, home of both Lackland Air Force Base and the Army's Fort Sam Houston.
The census data used in the analysis was from 2021, so it doesn't fully reflect the ballooning of home values that began after the brief COVID-19 pandemic recession in 2020, and the record 22% increase in Polk County tax valuations this year.
Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines' property taxes in top tier for large cities: new analysis
