Since 1998, Texas property tax levies have increased by more than 360 percent, far outpacing the combined growth of population and inflation of roughly 150 percent. This explosive growth has made property taxes the single largest tax burden Texans face, undermining homeownership, driving up rents, and reducing economic competitiveness. Despite repeated promises of relief, state and local governments continue to spend beyond their means, ensuring that property tax bills keep climbing. The chart and data below track the growth of school district property taxes, county taxes, city taxes, and special district levies from 1998 through 2023 and reveal just how unsustainable the system has become.
Key Insights
From 1998 to 2024, Texas property tax levies increased by 364%, while combined population growth and inflation rose only 149%. School district property taxes account for more than half of this growth, driving up the cost of housing and making Texans perpetual renters of their own homes. Despite repeated promises of reform, exemptions and temporary relief have failed to slow the trend. The data proves that without bold structural reform to eliminate property taxes, Texans will remain trapped in an unsustainable system.
Broken Down by Governmental Entity
Property Taxes as a Wealth Tax
Property taxes function like a recurring wealth tax. Even after a mortgage is paid off, homeowners must continue sending checks to the government or risk losing their property. Renters are not spared, as landlords pass the costs down, with property taxes accounting for 20 percent or more of monthly rent in many areas. Businesses, too, are hit hard, discouraging investment and job creation. In practice, Texans never truly own their homes. They rent them from the government for life, making property taxes both economically destructive and fundamentally unjust.
Why Levies Keep Rising
The problem isn’t revenue; it’s government spending. At the state level, the budget has grown nearly 40 percent in just two cycles, twice the rate of population growth plus inflation. Locally, spending and debt growth are equally out of control. For example, local government debt per capita in Texas now exceeds $8,600, one of the highest in the nation. Without strong spending limits, even well-intended measures like homestead exemptions or appraisal caps are temporary gimmicks that shift burdens rather than restrain growth.
School Property Taxes Drive the Burden
School district property taxes make up more than half of all property tax levies in Texas. Since 1998, they have risen by over 400 percent, the largest single driver of Texans’ skyrocketing bills. Lawmakers have repeatedly promised “school finance reform” or “school choice” but instead delivered billions more to the same system, trading true reform for political deals. The result is that school property taxes remain the dominant factor keeping families trapped in an affordability crisis.
Failed Relief and Misleading Claims
Recent budgets have advertised “historic property tax relief,” but most of the claimed $51 billion in relief was either maintaining previous cuts or contingent on future legislation. Only a fraction, roughly $6 billion, represented new relief. With no structural spending limits, these temporary efforts are quickly swallowed by rising levies. Texans are right to feel that every session brings big promises but little lasting change.
The Case for Eliminating Property Taxes
Eliminating property taxes is not a radical idea; it is a moral and economic necessity. Across America, from Florida to Montana, states are exploring bold reforms to scrap this antiquated system. Texas can lead by adopting a sustainable model:
- Surplus-driven buydowns: Dedicate state and local surpluses to compress property tax rates to zero over time. With strict spending caps tied to population plus inflation, Texas could eliminate school M&O property taxes within a decade.
- Sales tax redesign: Replace property taxes with a broad-based, flat sales tax on final goods and services, avoiding a European-style VAT. Paired with spending restraint, this system would tax consumption rather than ownership, encouraging growth and protecting private property.
- Constitutional protection: Once eliminated, enshrine the ban on property taxes in the Texas Constitution to ensure they never return.
Housing Affordability and Economic Freedom
Property taxes are one of the key drivers of Texas’s housing affordability crisis. Families are spending over half their income just to keep a roof over their heads, while renters see higher costs passed down through escalating levies. Combined with restrictive zoning, minimum lot sizes, and permitting delays, high property taxes make homes unaffordable for many Texans. Eliminating property taxes would remove one of the most regressive barriers to homeownership and restore the ability of families to build and pass down wealth.
The Bottom Line
The Texas property tax levies data from 1998 to 2023 make one reality clear: the system is broken and unsustainable. Property taxes have grown far faster than taxpayers’ ability to pay, while temporary exemptions and rate compression have failed to stop the rise. Texans deserve bold reform—true elimination of property taxes through disciplined spending, surplus buydowns, and a redesigned tax system that prioritizes economic freedom. Anything less leaves families trapped in a cycle of renting their homes from the government.
Texas Policy Research calls for ending property taxes once and for all so Texans can finally enjoy true ownership, lower housing costs, and a government that lives within its means.
Raw Data
| Tax Year | SPD Levy | County Levy | City Levy | School Levy | Total Levy | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | $1,883,080,138 | $2,619,628,810 | $2,970,251,205 | $11,228,753,261 | $18,701,713,414 | – |
| 1999 | $2,063,101,426 | $2,646,645,113 | $3,179,745,715 | $11,917,859,505 | $19,807,351,759 | 5.91% |
| 2000 | $2,888,621,638 | $2,873,452,097 | $3,504,092,996 | $13,301,083,561 | $22,567,250,292 | 13.93% |
| 2001 | $2,651,610,746 | $3,246,024,017 | $3,847,976,857 | $15,026,153,737 | $24,771,765,357 | 9.77% |
| 2002 | $2,867,735,633 | $3,507,842,313 | $4,117,776,708 | $16,262,058,353 | $26,755,413,007 | 8.01% |
| 2003 | $3,084,209,240 | $3,774,835,414 | $4,366,866,303 | $17,198,357,427 | $28,424,268,384 | 6.24% |
| 2004 | $4,579,488,574 | $4,089,744,284 | $4,518,242,703 | $18,428,882,515 | $31,616,358,076 | 11.23% |
| 2005 | $3,617,024,497 | $4,402,504,841 | $4,863,361,658 | $20,186,781,140 | $33,069,672,136 | 4.60% |
| 2006 | $3,970,005,374 | $4,937,454,611 | $5,286,535,198 | $20,811,154,860 | $35,005,150,043 | 5.85% |
| 2007 | $4,512,711,637 | $5,352,522,462 | $5,895,031,685 | $18,796,244,425 | $34,556,510,209 | -1.28% |
| 2008 | $4,952,792,863 | $5,863,884,238 | $6,406,453,878 | $21,124,726,350 | $38,347,857,329 | 10.97% |
| 2009 | $5,134,342,018 | $6,035,439,440 | $6,546,689,972 | $21,681,527,731 | $39,397,999,161 | 2.74% |
| 2010 | $5,395,436,477 | $6,036,573,208 | $6,553,776,429 | $21,582,858,323 | $39,568,644,437 | 0.43% |
| 2011 | $4,924,190,615 | $6,208,531,842 | $6,661,221,363 | $21,923,148,715 | $39,717,092,535 | 0.38% |
| 2012 | $5,530,689,644 | $6,505,085,887 | $7,004,163,084 | $22,965,265,816 | $42,005,204,431 | 5.76% |
| 2013 | $5,311,005,897 | $6,949,426,677 | $7,271,470,566 | $24,397,363,508 | $43,929,266,648 | 4.58% |
| 2014 | $6,363,499,461 | $7,448,383,408 | $7,768,696,671 | $26,570,247,739 | $48,150,827,279 | 9.61% |
| 2015 | $6,952,742,838 | $8,016,707,675 | $8,318,105,027 | $27,894,584,723 | $51,182,140,263 | 6.30% |
| 2016 | $8,028,538,312 | $8,335,177,994 | $9,099,861,446 | $29,469,130,143 | $54,932,707,895 | 7.33% |
| 2017 | $9,128,216,329 | $9,144,582,770 | $9,730,426,404 | $31,751,930,542 | $59,755,156,045 | 8.78% |
| 2018 | $8,485,263,910 | $9,602,798,872 | $10,387,752,412 | $34,723,549,607 | $63,199,364,801 | 5.76% |
| 2019 | $8,909,719,354 | $10,423,290,377 | $11,146,148,401 | $36,065,930,857 | $66,545,088,989 | 5.29% |
| 2020 | $9,486,152,671 | $11,290,528,493 | $11,963,476,245 | $37,759,657,465 | $70,499,814,874 | 5.94% |
| 2021 | $10,400,963,921 | $11,694,130,764 | $12,495,940,682 | $38,946,142,782 | $73,537,178,149 | 4.31% |
| 2022 | $10,409,180,231 | $12,797,292,169 | $13,634,471,866 | $43,949,038,027 | $80,789,982,293 | 9.86% |
| 2023 | $12,723,403,616 | $14,174,524,582 | $15,049,228,872 | $39,496,580,852 | $81,443,737,922 | 0.81% |
| 2024 | $13,499,241,570 | $15,729,755,794 | $15,710,014,974 | $41,657,752,748 | $86,596,765,086 | 6.33% |
| TOTALS | $167,752,968,630 | $193,706,768,152 | $208,297,779,320 | $685,116,764,712 | $1,254,874,280,814 | 363.04% |
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