5 Cities with the Highest Tax Rates

Income bracket aside, where you live has a lot to do with how much you pay to Uncle Sam come April 15.

With tax season upon us, the Office of Revenue Analysis reviewed the estimated property, sales, auto, and income taxes for families based on the largest cities in each state, to find out which residents face the highest tax bills.

The analysis, reported by 24/7 Wall Street, is based on “hypothetical families” earning below $25,000 a year and above $150,000 per year. The report find that seven of the cities with the highest tax burdens nationally also had among the 10 highest property tax rates.

The report also took into consideration the unemployment rate and population rates in each of the cities.

Here’s a look at the five cities with the highest tax rates nationwide:

1. Bridgeport, Conn

Unemployment rate: 7.8%

Like Philadelphia, Bridgeport residents of both high and low incomes face high tax bills. Families earning $150,000 a year had the highest tax rates nationwide, with $33,208 in taxes due in 2012. And lower earners at $25,000 paid $4,001 in taxes, the fourth highest tab in the cities reviewed nationwide.

In Bridgeport, more than 20% of the households surveyed made more than $200,000 a year, more than any other metro city reviewed, according to the report.

2. Philadelphia

Unemployment rate: 8.6%

The City of Brotherly Love shows no love for earners of all levels. Families making $150,000 a year face the third highest rates in the nation, paying $25,317 in taxes. And poorer families making $25,000 a year pay $3,794 annually in taxes, a higher burden than other low-level earners face nationwide.

3. Milwaukee

Unemployment rate: 7.4%

Milwaukee had the second highest tax rate for high-income earning families at $150,000 a year paying $26,296 in taxes due to high property tax burdens. 24/7 Wall Street reports the effective property tax rate is 3% and that the city works on a graduated income tax system, meaning families that earn more face higher tax rates.

4. Baltimore, Md.

Unemployment rate: 7.2%

24/Wall Street reports taxes for high-end families with more than $150,000 in annual income living in Charm City face the fourth highest tax rate in the nation at $24,747 per year. Baltimore’s property tax burden is also high, the report states, with families in this bracket paying an average of $13,772 in property taxes in 2012.

Low-income families with less than $25,000 a year in earnings in the city have no income tax burden, with taxes on average around $2,950, the 16th lowest rate in the nation, according to the report.

5. Columbus, Ohio

Unemployment rate: 6.1%

Tax burdens for families earning $150,000 a year owe approximately $22,333 annually in taxes, giving the city the title of having the sixth highest tax rate in the nation. The city’s high real estate taxes, at 3.57%, is the highest effective property rate of any city in the country.

But for lower-income families earning $25,000 a year in Columbus, the tax burdens dropped to 11.8%, or $2,953 a year, the report states.