Three Florida metropolitan areas ranked among the nation’s top 10 for property tax growth exceeding home value growth from 2022 to 2024, according to a ConsumerAffairs report released ahead of the state’s vote on property tax relief.
The report looked at the 100 largest metros in the country using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and compared the percentage change in median property taxes with the percentage change in median home value.
The national trend shows home values outpacing property taxes between 2022 and 2024. Home values went up 12.4% while property taxes increased 10.6%.
Meanwhile, Florida had three metros in the top ten for the inverse: property taxes outpacing home values.
At the top spot was Lakeland-Winter Haven where the average homeowner’s property tax bill increased more than 28% between 2022 and 2024 – almost triple the national increase. Meanwhile, home values went up just by 14.2%, the report found.
In 2022, the median property tax bill for a homeowner in Lakeland-Winter Haven was $1,752. By 2024, it rose to $2,245.
The percentage gap shrinks when compared over five years instead of two. In that period of time, property taxes in Lakeland-Winter Haven rose 78.6% while home values rose at 74.1% – a gap of 4.5%.
Taking the second top spot in the nation is Jacksonville, Florida. Property taxes rose by 21.7% between 2022 and 2024 while home values grew by 8.1%. However, a look at the five-year difference shows home values rising a little over 63% from 2019 to 2024 while property taxes rose 44.9%.
The median property tax bill for homeowners in Jacksonville was $2,307 in 2022 compared to $2,808 in 2024.
“Local housing data can help explain the shift,” the report stated. “Home values in the Jacksonville metro area jumped by double digits in both 2021 and 2022. Then, in 2023, home value growth slowed sharply as mortgage rates climbed to around 7% for a 30-year loan, according to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) analysis of the local market. That cooling lines up with the slower pace of home value growth reflected in census figures over the same stretch.”
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville took the sixth spot for property taxes outpacing home values. In 2022 the median property tax bill for homeowners in the area was $2,149 compared to $2,597 in 2024.
Voters will determine whether to approve Amendment 3, which would increase the homestead tax exemption to $250,000 by 2028.
The amendment has received pushback from local government leaders and a number of law enforcement organizations who have warned essential services will suffer.
Proponents argue local governments have been wasteful with taxpayer money as local budgets have increased across the state with property tax revenue nearly doubling over the past seven years from $32 billion to $60 billion, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
