The average single-family property tax bill in Massachusetts in 2022 is $6,719, up $347 from the previous year, according to a recent report conducted by the Division of Local Services, Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The average tax rate in Massachusetts is now $14.58 for every $1,000 in assessed property value.
Towns and cities with the highest tax rates are not necessarily those with the highest tax bills. The assessed value of the homes is also part of the equation. The highest tax rate in the state goes to Longmeadow, a town near Springfield, which has an annual tax rate of $24.64, but the average home value is $392,945, putting the average tax bill at $9,682.
The highest tax bills in Massachusetts are in many communities outside of Boston within the 495 beltway. Weston, which has an average home value of $1,777,218 has an average tax bill of $22,766 the highest in the state. The town of Brookline comes in second, with an average tax bill of $20,492 and an average home value of $2,011,023.
As you can see from this chart, many areas surrounding Boston have tax bills above $14,000 a year.
Most towns in western Massachusetts with assessed home values lower than the state average have the lowest tax bills in the state, such as the town of Hancock, with an average annual tax bill of just $807 and an average home value of $269,118. The town of Rowe, in northwestern Massachusetts near Vermont, has an annual tax bill of $1,397 and an average home value of $262,188.
Towns in the Cape and the Islands have high property values yet very low tax rates and thus have relatively low tax bills. This is because many of these properties are vacation properties so they don’t require taxes to pay for services and amenities off-season.
For home buyers looking for reasonable tax rates but who still want to live in the metro Boston area, there are several cities or towns where the combination of reasonable tax rates and home values puts their tax bills below the state average. Towns and cities in the Greater Boston area with the lowest tax bills are:
Tax rates for all towns and cities in Massachusetts for 2022
|
Municipality |
Single Family Tax Bill* |
Personal Property |
|
Abington |
6,910 |
15.22 |
|
Acton |
12,950 |
19.45 |
|
Acushnet |
4,576 |
17.18 |
|
Adams |
3,472 |
26.16 |
|
Agawam |
4,438 |
30.58 |
|
Alford |
4,193 |
5.25 |
|
Amesbury |
8,033 |
17.69 |
|
Amherst |
8,609 |
21.27 |
|
Andover |
11,075 |
29.29 |
|
Arlington |
9,646 |
11.42 |
|
Ashburnham |
5,527 |
18.88 |
|
Ashby |
5,230 |
17.69 |
|
Ashfield |
4,752 |
17.38 |
|
Ashland |
8,277 |
15.88 |
|
Athol |
3,319 |
16.05 |
|
Attleboro |
5,197 |
21.13 |
|
Auburn |
5,379 |
20.42 |
|
Avon |
6,193 |
29.88 |
|
Ayer |
5,365 |
28.28 |
|
Barnstable |
4,843 |
7.85 |
|
Barre |
4,279 |
16.84 |
|
Becket |
2,973 |
10.80 |
|
Bedford |
10,512 |
29.93 |
|
Belchertown |
5,412 |
17.66 |
|
Bellingham |
5,073 |
19.97 |
|
Belmont |
15,568 |
11.56 |
|
Berkley |
5,790 |
13.75 |
|
Berlin |
7,201 |
27.02 |
|
Bernardston |
4,673 |
17.20 |
|
Beverly |
7,471 |
23.90 |
|
Billerica |
5,941 |
28.78 |
|
Blackstone |
5,902 |
17.90 |
|
Blandford |
3,775 |
14.79 |
|
Bolton |
11,779 |
19.87 |
|
Boston |
5,212 |
24.98 |
|
Bourne |
5,295 |
10.09 |
|
Boxborough |
11,420 |
17.42 |
|
Boxford |
11,242 |
15.22 |
|
Boylston |
7,243 |
15.84 |
|
Braintree |
5,801 |
21.55 |
|
Brewster |
5,091 |
7.85 |
|
Bridgewater |
6,553 |
14.32 |
|
Brimfield |
4,786 |
16.43 |
|
Brockton |
4,767 |
28.18 |
|
Brookfield |
4,669 |
16.43 |
|
Brookline |
20,492 |
16.56 |
|
Buckland |
4,673 |
16.78 |
|
Burlington |
5,975 |
26.64 |
|
Cambridge |
9,691 |
11.23 |
|
Canton |
7,466 |
24.18 |
|
Carlisle |
15,438 |
16.50 |
|
Carver |
6,187 |
25.41 |
|
Charlemont |
4,601 |
20.73 |
|
Charlton |
4,588 |
13.29 |
|
Chatham |
5,164 |
4.62 |
|
Chelmsford |
7,829 |
19.70 |
|
Chelsea |
3,494 |
25.72 |
|
Cheshire |
2,994 |
12.76 |
|
Chester |
3,745 |
19.18 |
|
Chesterfield |
5,015 |
18.25 |
|
Chicopee |
3,663 |
37.40 |
|
Chilmark |
6,135 |
2.82 |
|
Clarksburg |
3,287 |
16.48 |
|
Clinton |
4,898 |
25.06 |
|
Cohasset |
13,848 |
12.56 |
|
Colrain |
4,113 |
20.48 |
|
Concord |
16,611 |
14.76 |
|
Conway |
5,646 |
17.95 |
|
Cummington |
3,772 |
14.45 |
|
Dalton |
4,882 |
20.74 |
|
Danvers |
6,933 |
20.54 |
|
Dartmouth |
4,431 |
17.41 |
|
Dedham |
7,980 |
27.93 |
|
Deerfield |
5,165 |
15.17 |
|
Dennis |
3,242 |
5.60 |
|
Dighton |
5,531 |
26.17 |
|
Douglas |
5,840 |
16.34 |
|
Dover |
15,715 |
12.42 |
|
Dracut |
5,190 |
12.29 |
|
Dudley |
3,608 |
11.70 |
|
Dunstable |
8,280 |
15.25 |
|
Duxbury |
11,466 |
12.84 |
|
East Bridgewater |
6,562 |
15.60 |
|
East Brookfield |
4,032 |
13.53 |
|
East Longmeadow |
6,253 |
20.29 |
|
Eastham |
4,920 |
8.58 |
|
Easthampton |
4,906 |
16.53 |
|
Easton |
7,886 |
15.39 |
|
Edgartown |
5,555 |
3.03 |
|
Egremont |
4,202 |
7.93 |
|
Erving |
1,736 |
12.92 |
|
Essex |
10,441 |
15.70 |
|
Everett |
3,907 |
24.04 |
|
Fairhaven |
3,743 |
20.39 |
|
Fall River |
3,584 |
27.03 |
|
Falmouth |
5,080 |
8.05 |
|
Fitchburg |
4,444 |
17.61 |
|
Florida |
1,501 |
20.12 |
|
Foxborough |
7,458 |
18.84 |
|
Framingham |
6,747 |
29.00 |
|
Franklin |
7,121 |
14.05 |
|
Freetown |
4,825 |
20.56 |
|
Gardner |
4,423 |
18.59 |
|
Aquinnah |
9,966 |
6.27 |
|
Georgetown |
7,545 |
14.08 |
|
Gill |
4,005 |
16.66 |
|
Gloucester |
8,075 |
12.12 |
|
Goshen |
4,238 |
16.13 |
|
Gosnold |
|
|
|
Grafton |
7,572 |
16.88 |
|
Granby |
5,605 |
19.06 |
|
Granville |
4,186 |
15.28 |
|
Great Barrington |
6,635 |
14.86 |
|
Greenfield |
4,938 |
22.32 |
|
Groton |
9,198 |
17.19 |
|
Groveland |
7,383 |
14.47 |
|
Hadley |
4,468 |
13.45 |
|
Halifax |
6,589 |
16.01 |
|
Hamilton |
11,249 |
17.88 |
|
Hampden |
5,784 |
18.72 |
|
Hancock |
807 |
3.00 |
|
Hanover |
9,046 |
15.95 |
|
Hanson |
6,236 |
15.09 |
|
Hardwick |
4,061 |
14.70 |
|
Harvard |
12,085 |
17.89 |
|
Harwich |
5,162 |
8.11 |
|
Hatfield |
4,789 |
13.67 |
|
Haverhill |
4,954 |
23.30 |
|
Hawley |
4,042 |
17.52 |
|
Heath |
4,207 |
21.51 |
|
Hingham |
10,723 |
11.56 |
|
Hinsdale |
3,599 |
13.66 |
|
Holbrook |
6,015 |
32.68 |
|
Holden |
6,382 |
16.56 |
|
Holland |
3,988 |
15.54 |
|
Holliston |
9,089 |
17.38 |
|
Holyoke |
4,227 |
40.60 |
|
Hopedale |
7,042 |
27.66 |
|
Hopkinton |
11,597 |
17.02 |
|
Hubbardston |
4,414 |
14.00 |
|
Hudson |
6,968 |
31.60 |
|
Hull |
6,741 |
12.54 |
|
Huntington |
4,190 |
17.56 |
|
Ipswich |
7,958 |
12.86 |
|
Kingston |
7,103 |
14.58 |
|
Lakeville |
5,422 |
12.07 |
|
Lancaster |
7,570 |
19.45 |
|
Lanesborough |
4,992 |
19.10 |
|
Lawrence |
3,650 |
24.21 |
|
Lee |
3,959 |
13.65 |
|
Leicester |
4,127 |
13.99 |
|
Lenox |
5,068 |
13.46 |
|
Leominster |
5,504 |
16.56 |
|
Leverett |
6,515 |
18.84 |
|
Lexington |
16,613 |
27.18 |
|
Leyden |
4,385 |
16.14 |
|
Lincoln |
18,617 |
20.77 |
|
Littleton |
9,178 |
28.05 |
|
Longmeadow |
9,682 |
24.64 |
|
Lowell |
4,674 |
25.18 |
|
Ludlow |
5,031 |
19.99 |
|
Lunenburg |
6,436 |
17.19 |
|
Lynn |
5,195 |
23.70 |
|
Lynnfield |
9,818 |
19.32 |
|
Malden |
4,278 |
19.17 |
|
Manchester By The Sea |
14,141 |
10.60 |
|
Mansfield |
7,682 |
18.88 |
|
Marblehead |
9,935 |
10.52 |
|
Marion |
7,685 |
10.85 |
|
Marlborough |
5,657 |
22.17 |
|
Marshfield |
6,748 |
12.95 |
|
Mashpee |
5,151 |
8.03 |
|
Mattapoisett |
7,168 |
12.40 |
|
Maynard |
8,498 |
27.36 |
|
Medfield |
12,555 |
17.42 |
|
Medford |
5,896 |
17.23 |
|
Medway |
8,078 |
16.93 |
|
Melrose |
7,435 |
18.03 |
|
Mendon |
7,781 |
15.41 |
|
Merrimac |
7,483 |
16.34 |
|
Methuen |
5,118 |
25.62 |
|
Middleborough |
5,678 |
16.33 |
|
Middlefield |
3,839 |
17.79 |
|
Middleton |
9,130 |
13.25 |
|
Milford |
5,803 |
28.44 |
|
Millbury |
4,911 |
15.00 |
|
Millis |
8,734 |
18.88 |
|
Millville |
5,097 |
15.11 |
|
Milton |
10,281 |
19.12 |
|
Monroe |
1,557 |
24.96 |
|
Monson |
4,553 |
17.83 |
|
Montague |
3,941 |
25.83 |
|
Monterey |
4,201 |
7.28 |
|
Montgomery |
3,992 |
13.95 |
|
Mount Washington |
3,022 |
6.11 |
|
Nahant |
8,168 |
9.79 |
|
Nantucket |
6,847 |
6.40 |
|
Natick |
9,157 |
13.34 |
|
Needham |
13,586 |
26.43 |
|
New Ashford |
3,306 |
10.94 |
|
New Bedford |
4,055 |
33.51 |
|
New Braintree |
4,703 |
16.25 |
|
New Marlborough |
4,388 |
9.30 |
|
New Salem |
4,526 |
18.92 |
|
Newbury |
6,217 |
9.73 |
|
Newburyport |
8,430 |
12.01 |
|
Newton |
14,024 |
19.95 |
|
Norfolk |
9,750 |
18.20 |
|
North Adams |
3,105 |
39.26 |
|
North Andover |
8,219 |
18.73 |
|
North Attleborough |
6,013 |
17.04 |
|
North Brookfield |
3,925 |
14.86 |
|
North Reading |
9,888 |
15.00 |
|
Northampton |
6,303 |
17.89 |
|
Northborough |
8,195 |
16.49 |
|
Northbridge |
5,059 |
13.77 |
|
Northfield |
3,390 |
13.85 |
|
Norton |
6,025 |
14.26 |
|
Norwell |
11,752 |
16.62 |
|
Norwood |
5,952 |
24.00 |
|
Oak Bluffs |
6,279 |
6.75 |
|
Oakham |
3,918 |
12.72 |
|
Orange |
3,875 |
19.12 |
|
Orleans |
6,703 |
7.20 |
|
Otis |
2,838 |
7.75 |
|
Oxford |
4,570 |
16.16 |
|
Palmer |
4,269 |
19.83 |
|
Paxton |
6,969 |
18.98 |
|
Peabody |
5,016 |
21.14 |
|
Pelham |
7,112 |
20.56 |
|
Pembroke |
6,393 |
14.15 |
|
Pepperell |
6,568 |
17.15 |
|
Peru |
3,904 |
18.32 |
|
Petersham |
3,845 |
13.54 |
|
Phillipston |
4,123 |
15.58 |
|
Pittsfield |
4,122 |
39.90 |
|
Plainfield |
4,167 |
19.95 |
|
Plainville |
6,108 |
18.20 |
|
Plymouth |
6,438 |
15.43 |
|
Plympton |
7,227 |
16.81 |
|
Princeton |
6,630 |
15.68 |
|
Provincetown |
8,085 |
6.37 |
|
Quincy |
6,510 |
23.86 |
|
Randolph |
5,501 |
26.35 |
|
Raynham |
6,352 |
20.29 |
|
Reading |
9,313 |
13.55 |
|
Rehoboth |
5,689 |
12.67 |
|
Revere |
4,920 |
20.56 |
|
Richmond |
5,710 |
12.74 |
|
Rochester |
6,001 |
12.74 |
|
Rockland |
6,516 |
16.75 |
|
Rockport |
7,248 |
9.82 |
|
Rowe |
1,397 |
8.69 |
|
Rowley |
7,753 |
14.62 |
|
Royalston |
2,787 |
12.21 |
|
Russell |
4,850 |
19.90 |
|
Rutland |
5,519 |
15.79 |
|
Salem |
6,168 |
26.31 |
|
Salisbury |
5,100 |
11.14 |
|
Sandisfield |
3,654 |
12.90 |
|
Sandwich |
6,547 |
13.16 |
|
Saugus |
6,117 |
24.87 |
|
Savoy |
2,585 |
14.40 |
|
Scituate |
8,783 |
12.62 |
|
Seekonk |
5,265 |
29.43 |
|
Sharon |
12,020 |
19.75 |
|
Sheffield |
4,794 |
12.44 |
|
Shelburne |
4,538 |
14.49 |
|
Sherborn |
16,760 |
19.03 |
|
Shirley |
5,472 |
15.48 |
|
Shrewsbury |
7,383 |
14.11 |
|
Shutesbury |
5,876 |
21.83 |
|
Somerset |
4,590 |
25.81 |
|
Somerville |
6,879 |
16.85 |
|
South Hadley |
4,940 |
16.45 |
|
Southampton |
5,447 |
15.07 |
|
Southborough |
11,234 |
16.28 |
|
Southbridge |
4,266 |
17.90 |
|
Southwick |
5,127 |
16.98 |
|
Spencer |
3,932 |
13.16 |
|
Springfield |
3,484 |
39.04 |
|
Sterling |
6,259 |
15.25 |
|
Stockbridge |
5,633 |
9.38 |
|
Stoneham |
6,354 |
19.81 |
|
Stoughton |
6,171 |
24.20 |
|
Stow |
10,893 |
19.56 |
|
Sturbridge |
6,538 |
19.15 |
|
Sudbury |
14,395 |
24.57 |
|
Sunderland |
4,916 |
14.70 |
|
Sutton |
6,522 |
15.18 |
|
Swampscott |
9,128 |
23.20 |
|
Swansea |
4,419 |
21.21 |
|
Taunton |
4,420 |
28.87 |
|
Templeton |
4,051 |
15.24 |
|
Tewksbury |
7,434 |
27.25 |
|
Tisbury |
9,150 |
8.12 |
|
Tolland |
2,901 |
9.00 |
|
Topsfield |
11,398 |
16.65 |
|
Townsend |
5,798 |
17.61 |
|
Truro |
6,401 |
7.37 |
|
Tyngsborough |
6,806 |
14.94 |
|
Tyringham |
3,748 |
6.72 |
|
Upton |
7,797 |
16.77 |
|
Uxbridge |
5,365 |
15.16 |
|
Wakefield |
7,765 |
23.77 |
|
Wales |
3,981 |
18.52 |
|
Walpole |
8,551 |
19.22 |
|
Waltham |
4,631 |
22.88 |
|
Ware |
4,182 |
19.34 |
|
Wareham |
3,513 |
10.87 |
|
Warren |
3,491 |
15.56 |
|
Warwick |
4,107 |
21.07 |
|
Washington |
4,080 |
14.84 |
|
Watertown |
7,072 |
21.28 |
|
Wayland |
15,386 |
18.35 |
|
Webster |
4,391 |
13.96 |
|
Wellesley |
16,889 |
11.68 |
|
Wellfleet |
5,389 |
7.43 |
|
Wendell |
4,340 |
23.24 |
|
Wenham |
14,265 |
19.58 |
|
West Boylston |
6,426 |
17.68 |
|
West Bridgewater |
6,199 |
29.06 |
|
West Brookfield |
3,875 |
13.23 |
|
West Newbury |
8,754 |
13.01 |
|
West Springfield |
4,086 |
30.92 |
|
West Stockbridge |
5,717 |
12.56 |
|
West Tisbury |
7,172 |
5.82 |
|
Westborough |
10,328 |
18.49 |
|
Westfield |
5,032 |
36.31 |
|
Westford |
9,678 |
16.12 |
|
Westhampton |
6,256 |
20.49 |
|
Westminster |
5,399 |
15.80 |
|
Weston |
22,766 |
12.81 |
|
Westport |
4,193 |
8.48 |
|
Westwood |
12,438 |
28.99 |
|
Weymouth |
5,352 |
18.36 |
|
Whately |
4,991 |
13.71 |
|
Whitman |
5,596 |
14.56 |
|
Wilbraham |
7,119 |
20.49 |
|
Williamsburg |
5,878 |
19.44 |
|
Williamstown |
6,985 |
16.92 |
|
Wilmington |
7,081 |
30.06 |
|
Winchendon |
3,663 |
15.11 |
|
Winchester |
15,813 |
11.89 |
|
Windsor |
2,873 |
13.15 |
|
Winthrop |
6,409 |
11.76 |
|
Woburn |
5,160 |
22.77 |
|
Worcester |
4,477 |
33.33 |
|
Worthington |
4,374 |
16.04 |
|
Wrentham |
7,177 |
18.15 |
|
Yarmouth |
4,160 |
9.18 |
Sources: