The home for sale at 118 E. 144th St. in Riverdale had a property tax bill of $5,417 in 2016. | Zillow.com
The home for sale at 118 E. 144th St. in Riverdale had a property tax bill of $5,417 in 2016. | Zillow.com
Property owners in Riverdale paid nearly 9 percent of the value of their homes in taxes last year. That’s nearly eight times the national average, according to an LGIS analysis of real estate sales data in the South Suburbs from Jan 1. to June 30.
Local Government Information Service (LGIS) publishes South Cook News.
Riverdale, population 13,352, recorded a median sale price of $32,000, based on data from the 65 properties sold during the first half of 2018. In 2017, homeowners paid a median property tax bill of $2,871, according to county tax data from the Cook County Assessor’s Office.
That’s 8.97 percent of the community’s median home value. In the U.S., the average effective property tax rate is 1.19 percent.
Put another way: a $32,000 home in Indiana, where the effective rate is 0.89 percent, would have a property tax bill of about $285, or nearly $2,600 less per year.
The analysis, including 51 South Suburbs communities, shows homeowners in Park Forest, Harvey, Sauk Village, Markham, Dolton and East Hazel Crest pay the highest property taxes in the region, each clocking in with effective rates between 6 and 8.5 percent.
Fifteen South Suburbs communities recorded property tax rates of 3 to 4 percent, while an additional 14 pay between 4 and 8.5 percent.
Illinois homeowners pay the second-highest property taxes in the country with an effective median rate of 2.32 percent, just behind those in New Jersey (2.28 percent).
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Top Property Rates in South Suburbs
The following table ranks South Suburbs communities by their median effective property tax rate, calculated using sales and property tax data from 2018.
| City | Jan - June 2018 Sales | Jan - June 2018 Median Price | Median tax | Effective Property Tax Rate |
| Riverdale | 65 | $32,000 | $2,871 | 8.97% |
| Park Forest | 151 | $59,000 | $4,938 | 8.37% |
| Harvey | 76 | $31,250 | $2,419 | 7.74% |
| Sauk Village | 77 | $37,000 | $2,523 | 6.82% |
| Markham | 69 | $45,000 | $3,034 | 6.74% |
| Dolton | 205 | $60,000 | $3,648 | 6.08% |
| East Hazel Crest | 12 | $62,000 | $3,724 | 6.01% |
| Burnham | 20 | $60,500 | $2,964 | 4.90% |
| Calumet City | 256 | $72,000 | $3,478 | 4.83% |
| Calumet Park | 55 | $74,000 | $3,422 | 4.62% |
| Country Club Hills | 179 | $109,500 | $4,975 | 4.54% |
| Olympia Fields | 40 | $179,750 | $8,061 | 4.48% |
| Hazel Crest | 108 | $83,500 | $3,642 | 4.36% |
| Flossmoor | 92 | $208,250 | $8,492 | 4.08% |
| Chicago Heights | 166 | $82,000 | $3,335 | 4.07% |
| Thornton | 26 | $87,000 | $3,400 | 3.91% |
| Matteson | 150 | $143,500 | $5,560 | 3.87% |
| Glenwood | 70 | $107,750 | $4,165 | 3.87% |
| Richton Park | 102 | $124,500 | $4,574 | 3.67% |
| South Chicago Heights | 29 | $74,000 | $2,686 | 3.63% |
| Summit | 43 | $155,000 | $5,542 | 3.58% |
| Homewood | 187 | $138,500 | $4,741 | 3.42% |
| South Holland | 231 | $139,000 | $4,648 | 3.34% |
| Lansing | 266 | $115,000 | $3,822 | 3.32% |
| Alsip | 116 | $144,750 | $4,631 | 3.20% |
| Midlothian | 138 | $133,250 | $4,231 | 3.18% |
| Blue Island | 101 | $107,000 | $3,350 | 3.13% |
| Oak Forest | 245 | $180,000 | $5,632 | 3.13% |
| Tinley Park | 556 | $190,000 | $5,869 | 3.09% |
| Lynwood | 49 | $162,000 | $4,909 | 3.03% |
| Bridgeview | 63 | $178,000 | $4,925 | 2.77% |
| Ford Heights | 7 | $26,500 | $714 | 2.69% |
| Chicago Ridge | 91 | $118,000 | $3,147 | 2.67% |
| Orland Hills | 48 | $190,000 | $5,048 | 2.66% |
| Hometown | 47 | $115,000 | $3,016 | 2.62% |
| Worth | 98 | $169,500 | $4,440 | 2.62% |
| Justice | 60 | $176,000 | $4,555 | 2.59% |
| Dixmoor | 7 | $49,000 | $1,269 | 2.59% |
| Hickory Hills | 106 | $217,250 | $5,537 | 2.55% |
| Evergreen Park | 178 | $180,250 | $4,530 | 2.51% |
| Stickney | 46 | $173,750 | $4,284 | 2.47% |
| Oak Lawn | 535 | $174,500 | $4,205 | 2.41% |
| Posen | 36 | $107,500 | $2,587 | 2.41% |
| Burbank | 161 | $185,000 | $4,382 | 2.37% |
| Orland Park | 559 | $247,000 | $5,838 | 2.36% |
| Palos Heights | 121 | $270,000 | $6,255 | 2.32% |
| Robbins | 12 | $50,250 | $1,164 | 2.32% |
| Palos Park | 85 | $325,000 | $7,178 | 2.21% |
| Merrionette Park | 13 | $130,000 | $2,792 | 2.15% |
| Lemont | 137 | $315,000 | $6,719 | 2.13% |
| Crestwood | 122 | $114,000 | $2,431 | 2.13% |
| Palos Hills | 162 | $160,000 | $3,301 | 2.06% |
| Steger | 27 | $90,000 | $1,662 | 1.85% |
Median Sales Prices in South Suburbs
The following table ranks South Suburbs cities by the year-over-year change in median sale price, which is calculated using prices of properties sold during the first six months of 2018.
| City | Jan - June 2017 Sales | Jan - June 2017 Median Price | Jan - June 2018 Sales | Jan - June 2018 Median Price | Change |
| Ford Heights | 3 | $2,500 | 7 | $26,500 | 960.00% |
| Robbins | 16 | $25,000 | 12 | $50,250 | 101.00% |
| Worth | 78 | $102,000 | 98 | $169,500 | 66.18% |
| Harvey | 61 | $21,500 | 76 | $31,250 | 45.35% |
| Park Forest | 134 | $40,750 | 151 | $59,000 | 44.79% |
| Lansing | 310 | $81,000 | 266 | $115,000 | 41.98% |
| Chicago Heights | 138 | $60,000 | 166 | $82,000 | 36.67% |
| Dixmoor | 8 | $36,250 | 7 | $49,000 | 35.17% |
| Richton Park | 102 | $92,500 | 102 | $124,500 | 34.59% |
| East Hazel Crest | 9 | $47,000 | 12 | $62,000 | 31.91% |
| Posen | 32 | $81,500 | 36 | $107,500 | 31.90% |
| Chicago Ridge | 89 | $92,000 | 91 | $118,000 | 28.26% |
| South Holland | 235 | $109,000 | 231 | $139,000 | 27.52% |
| Lynwood | 56 | $132,000 | 49 | $162,000 | 22.73% |
| Glenwood | 100 | $89,000 | 70 | $107,750 | 21.07% |
| Hometown | 37 | $95,000 | 47 | $115,000 | 21.05% |
| Crestwood | 116 | $95,000 | 122 | $114,000 | 20.00% |
| Dolton | 208 | $51,000 | 205 | $60,000 | 17.65% |
| Calumet Park | 30 | $63,750 | 55 | $74,000 | 16.08% |
| Country Club Hills | 143 | $96,000 | 179 | $109,500 | 14.06% |
| Justice | 50 | $154,750 | 60 | $176,000 | 13.73% |
| Calumet City | 260 | $64,000 | 256 | $72,000 | 12.50% |
| Matteson | 196 | $128,000 | 150 | $143,500 | 12.11% |
| Summit | 63 | $138,500 | 43 | $155,000 | 11.91% |
| Palos Heights | 111 | $243,000 | 121 | $270,000 | 11.11% |
| Palos Park | 70 | $295,500 | 85 | $325,000 | 9.98% |
| Hazel Crest | 133 | $76,000 | 108 | $83,500 | 9.87% |
| Bridgeview | 84 | $162,750 | 63 | $178,000 | 9.37% |
| Evergreen Park | 168 | $165,000 | 178 | $180,250 | 9.24% |
| Steger | 28 | $82,750 | 27 | $90,000 | 8.76% |
| Stickney | 46 | $161,500 | 46 | $173,750 | 7.59% |
| Alsip | 143 | $135,000 | 116 | $144,750 | 7.22% |
| Oak Forest | 224 | $168,500 | 245 | $180,000 | 6.82% |
| Oak Lawn | 540 | $165,000 | 535 | $174,500 | 5.76% |
| Tinley Park | 494 | $180,000 | 556 | $190,000 | 5.56% |
| Hickory Hills | 77 | $206,000 | 106 | $217,250 | 5.46% |
| Burbank | 181 | $177,500 | 161 | $185,000 | 4.23% |
| Merrionette Park | 14 | $125,500 | 13 | $130,000 | 3.59% |
| Thornton | 15 | $85,000 | 26 | $87,000 | 2.35% |
| Palos Hills | 130 | $156,500 | 162 | $160,000 | 2.24% |
| Blue Island | 105 | $105,000 | 101 | $107,000 | 1.90% |
| South Chicago Heights | 40 | $73,000 | 29 | $74,000 | 1.37% |
| Midlothian | 114 | $132,750 | 138 | $133,250 | 0.38% |
| Sauk Village | 81 | $37,000 | 77 | $37,000 | 0.00% |
| Orland Park | 527 | $249,000 | 559 | $247,000 | -0.80% |
| Flossmoor | 123 | $210,000 | 92 | $208,250 | -0.83% |
| Lemont | 113 | $320,000 | 137 | $315,000 | -1.56% |
| Homewood | 189 | $143,000 | 187 | $138,500 | -3.15% |
| Riverdale | 41 | $33,500 | 65 | $32,000 | -4.48% |
| Orland Hills | 48 | $199,500 | 48 | $190,000 | -4.76% |
| Olympia Fields | 41 | $190,000 | 40 | $179,750 | -5.39% |
| Burnham | 26 | $66,500 | 20 | $60,500 | -9.02% |
| Markham | 82 | $55,000 | 69 | $45,000 | -18.18% |
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