Larger Cities, Higher Property Tax Rates
Bigger isn't always better, especially when it comes to city property tax rates. As a whole, Utah's largest cities have the highest property tax rates even though they have slightly higher per capita property tax bases than smaller cities and higher per capita sales tax revenues.
Using data from the Utah State Tax Commission and the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, the Utah Taxpayers Association calculated valuation-weighted property tax rates and per capita property tax bases for Utah cities grouped by population. The valuation-weighted property tax rates are as follows:
15 largest cities: 0.002907
16 to 30 largest cities: 0.001906
31 to 50 largest cities: 0.001834 (0.001775 excluding Park City)
51 to 100 largest cities: 0.001600
101 to 240+ largest cities: 0.001600
Tax bases impact tax rates. For example, a larger tax base means a local government can provide services at a lower tax rate. However, large cities have higher tax rates despite having higher property tax rates per capita:
15 largest cities: $55,374
16 to 30 largest cities: $57,944
31 to 50 largest cities: 68,080 ($50,479 excluding Park City)
51 to 100 largest cities: $44,944
101 to 240+ cities: $45,435
Large cities also have higher sales tax revenues per capita as shown in the following chart (we use sales tax revenues instead of sales tax base to account for the 50-50 distribution formula):
15 largest cities: $159
16 to 30 largest cities: $143
31 to 50 largest cities: $140 ($127 excluding Park City)
51 to 100 largest cities: $138
101 to 240+ cities: $124
