Author: Andrew Nelson - Bureau of Accounts Supervisor
For decades, the Division of Local Services (DLS) through our City & Town publication has presented a calculation and analysis of the average single-family tax bill in Massachusetts. This article marks the second year of an improved approach that we believe will more accurately examine the subject. Our improved approach includes communities that have adopted a residential exemption or senior means-tested exemption representing many of the Commonwealth’s largest population centers such as Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville and Waltham. These communities account for over 20% of the state’s total population and their inclusion in the following article results in a comprehensive analysis.
The methodology DLS uses presumes Massachusetts is one local governmental entity for which a tax bill would be determined. It does not represent the mean or median of actual single-family property tax bills. We calculate the state average single-family tax bill by multiplying each local average bill by each local parcel count then dividing that product by the total state parcel count.
Analysis of data for this article focuses on single-family properties classified as property type code 101 and does not include condominiums, multi-family homes or apartment buildings. For the 344 FY2023 reporting communities as of February 7, 2023, single-family values statewide represent 63.4% of all residential assessed values and 52.3% of statewide assessed values in all property classes. Based on review of statewide data for FY2023, the average value of a single-family home is $600,011 and the average single-family tax bill is $7,059. For comparison, the FY2022 average single-family tax bill was $6,719.
Review historical data related to the average single-family property tax bill. View an interactive map, which will provide a geographical view of the average single family tax bills.
Single-Family Residential Property Tax Bill: Community Averages
For our analysis, we calculate a community’s average single-family tax bill as follows. Single-family assessed values are divided by number of single-family parcels to determine an average single-family value. The average value is multiplied the residential tax rate as certified by the Bureau of Accounts for the fiscal year.
The following graph presents the median or midpoint of community averages for the number of communities shown in parenthesis included in the 10-year period from FY2014 to FY2023.
The Median of Community Averages By County
The following chart shows the median of the FY2023 average single-family tax bills by county compared to the state median of $5,932.
The following graph displays the range of FY2023 average tax bills across the Commonwealth for 344 reporting communities.
The following graph presents the ten highest and ten lowest FY2023 average single-family property tax bills.
The Statewide Trend in Current and Constant Dollars
The following chart displays the FY2023 state average single-family tax bill and FY2023 median of municipal tax bills in current dollars in relation to constant dollars adjusted for inflation. Current dollars for both have outpaced the rate of inflation over the time shown.
Source: CPI for all Urban Consumers – Boston and includes a 7.1% estimated inflation factor for FY2023
We continually strive to bring relevant and useful content to City & Town readers. Please email us with questions, comments and suggestions for future topics at city&town@dor.state.ma.us.
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Editor: Dan Bertrand
Editorial Board: Marcia Bohinc, Linda Bradley, Sean Cronin, Emily Izzo, Lisa Krzywicki and Tony Rassias
| Date published: | February 16, 2023 |
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