Northwest Nuggets: Which Northwest Suburbs Pay the Most Property Taxes? 🏡💰

If you own a home in the Northwest Suburbs, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve complained about your property tax bill at least once, I know I have.

But how does your suburb actually compare with the communities around it?

We dug into the latest available U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data to compare median annual real estate taxes paid by homeowners across 33 Northwest Suburbs.

And as you might expect, there are some pretty big differences.

*The Census data reaches an upper reporting category at roughly $10,000, so communities shown as $10,000+ cannot reliably be ranked against one another. We’ve grouped them together rather than assigning a misleading order.
The underlying Census measure is median real estate taxes paid for owner-occupied housing units, from the 2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Six communities in our comparison hit the Census reporting ceiling: Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Grayslake, Long Grove, Park Ridge and Vernon Hills.

Among communities where the Census provides an exact figure, Lake Zurich comes out highest at $9,217 per year, followed closely by Bartlett at $9,136 and Arlington Heights at $8,759.

Mount Prospect comes in at $8,425, while neighboring Arlington Heights is higher at $8,759.

Algonquin and Palatine are tied in the Census estimates at $8,025 per year.

There’s also a noticeable difference farther west. Crystal Lake sits at $7,720, Huntley at $7,537, Lake in the Hills at $7,430, McHenry at $6,456 and Carpentersville at $5,270.

Closer to O’Hare, Roselle comes in at $7,008, Elk Grove Village at $6,728, Schaumburg at $6,617, Des Plaines at $6,344, Norridge at $6,328 and Wheeling at $6,029.

Here’s some perspective.

Across Illinois as a whole, the 2024 ACS estimates put median annual property taxes at about $5,298. For the broader Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, the median is roughly $6,401.

That means a large portion of the Northwest Suburbs in our comparison are paying above the metro-area median, and nearly all are above the statewide figure.

It probably won’t surprise many Northwest suburban homeowners, but seeing the numbers side by side really puts it into perspective.

These numbers are community medians, not the tax bill for a particular house.

Property taxes can vary significantly within the same suburb because your bill depends on your property value and assessment, exemptions, school district, county, park district and other local taxing bodies.

Some Northwest suburbs also cross county lines, which can create additional differences from one neighborhood to another.

So this is best viewed as a way to compare the typical property tax burden reported by homeowners in each community, rather than as an official tax rate for the municipality.

Our primary source is the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, specifically Table B25103: Mortgage Status by Median Real Estate Taxes Paid. The Census defines the universe for this table as owner-occupied housing units.

We used Census-derived place-level data for the individual communities. The ACS 5-Year Estimates are particularly useful here because they provide estimates for smaller municipalities that may not be included in the annual 1-Year ACS release.

Because this is survey data, the figures are estimates and have margins of error. They also represent a five-year pooled estimate rather than the exact property tax bills issued during a single calendar year.

One other important note: the ACS tax data has an upper reporting category, which is why several communities appear as $10,000+ rather than with an exact median. Those communities should be considered tied for purposes of this comparison.

U.S. Census Bureau, 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B25103: Mortgage Status by Median Real Estate Taxes Paid (Dollars)
This is the primary source used for the suburb-by-suburb median property tax figures. The relevant measure is B25103_001E: Median real estate taxes paid, Total. View Table B25103 for Illinois places

U.S. Census Bureau, Census Data API: Table B25103 Variable Definitions
This page identifies and defines the specific Census variables used in the analysis, including B25103_001E for median real estate taxes paid. View B25103 variable definitions

U.S. Census Bureau, 2020–2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Release Information
The 2020–2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates were released January 29, 2026 and are based on data collected from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2024. The 5-year estimates are available for geographic areas regardless of population size, making them appropriate for comparing municipalities throughout the Northwest Suburbs. 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates release information