The home for sale at 1501 Speechley Blvd. in Berkeley had a property tax bill of $3,778 in 2016. | Zillow.com
The home for sale at 1501 Speechley Blvd. in Berkeley had a property tax bill of $3,778 in 2016. | Zillow.com
Property owners in Berkeley paid nearly 2.5 percent of the value of their homes in taxes last year. That’s more than two times the national average, according to an LGIS analysis of real estate sales data in the West Suburbs from Jan 1. to June 30.
Local Government Information Service (LGIS) publishes West Cook News.
Berkeley, population 5,148, recorded a median sale price of $187,250, based on data from the 36 properties sold during the first half of 2018. In 2017, homeowners paid a median property tax bill of $4,582, according to county tax data from the Cook County Assessor’s Office.
That’s 2.45 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 $187,250 home in Indiana, where the effective rate is 0.89 percent, would have a property tax bill of about $1,667, or more than $2,900 less per year.
The analysis, including 35 West Suburbs communities, shows homeowners in Maywood, Countryside, River Grove, Oak Park, Stone Park, Northlake, River Forest, Bellwood and Hodgkins pay the highest property taxes in the region, each clocking in with effective rates between 2.75 and 4 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 West Suburbs
The following table ranks West 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 |
| Maywood | 158 | $125,000 | $4,951 | 3.96% |
| Countryside | 38 | $131,000 | $4,188 | 3.20% |
| River Grove | 54 | $167,500 | $5,351 | 3.19% |
| Oak Park | 473 | $351,000 | $10,492 | 2.99% |
| Stone Park | 9 | $163,000 | $4,651 | 2.85% |
| Northlake | 81 | $169,000 | $4,756 | 2.81% |
| River Forest | 109 | $470,000 | $13,179 | 2.80% |
| Bellwood | 112 | $150,500 | $4,154 | 2.76% |
| Hodgkins | 4 | $209,250 | $5,769 | 2.76% |
| Cicero | 263 | $165,500 | $4,392 | 2.65% |
| Berwyn | 358 | $217,250 | $5,672 | 2.61% |
| Bedford Park | 7 | $210,000 | $5,438 | 2.59% |
| Forest Park | 161 | $215,000 | $5,445 | 2.53% |
| Melrose Park | 134 | $192,500 | $4,858 | 2.52% |
| Franklin Park | 105 | $210,000 | $5,219 | 2.49% |
| Berkeley | 36 | $187,250 | $4,582 | 2.45% |
| Willow Springs | 64 | $260,750 | $6,243 | 2.39% |
| La Grange | 173 | $395,000 | $9,393 | 2.38% |
| Lyons | 72 | $165,000 | $3,931 | 2.38% |
| Hillside | 49 | $180,000 | $4,251 | 2.36% |
| Brookfield | 171 | $242,000 | $5,654 | 2.34% |
| Riverside | 67 | $410,000 | $9,560 | 2.33% |
| Forest View | 9 | $205,000 | $4,766 | 2.32% |
| Hinsdale | 32 | $717,500 | $15,765 | 2.20% |
| Schiller Park | 63 | $195,000 | $4,258 | 2.18% |
| La Grange Park | 97 | $350,000 | $7,511 | 2.15% |
| Elmwood Park | 185 | $255,000 | $5,490 | 2.15% |
| Broadview | 40 | $179,000 | $3,807 | 2.13% |
| Indian Head Park | 53 | $218,000 | $4,498 | 2.06% |
| Westchester | 164 | $239,500 | $4,915 | 2.05% |
| Burr Ridge | 34 | $481,250 | $9,445 | 1.96% |
| North Riverside | 42 | $233,000 | $4,404 | 1.89% |
| Western Springs | 120 | $545,000 | $10,034 | 1.84% |
| Harwood Heights | 62 | $266,500 | $4,757 | 1.79% |
| Norridge | 101 | $285,000 | $4,782 | 1.68% |
| La Grange Highlands | 21 | $360,000 | $5,760 | 1.60% |
Median Sales Prices in West Suburbs
The following table ranks West 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 |
| Hodgkins | 1 | $125,000 | 4 | $209,250 | 67.40% |
| Bedford Park | 6 | $150,000 | 7 | $210,000 | 40.00% |
| Stone Park | 10 | $119,500 | 9 | $163,000 | 36.40% |
| Hillside | 53 | $137,500 | 49 | $180,000 | 30.91% |
| La Grange Highlands | 24 | $292,500 | 21 | $360,000 | 23.08% |
| Bellwood | 138 | $124,000 | 112 | $150,500 | 21.37% |
| Franklin Park | 137 | $175,000 | 105 | $210,000 | 20.00% |
| Lyons | 76 | $137,500 | 72 | $165,000 | 20.00% |
| Maywood | 127 | $105,000 | 158 | $125,000 | 19.05% |
| Broadview | 69 | $152,000 | 40 | $179,000 | 17.76% |
| Forest View | 7 | $175,000 | 9 | $205,000 | 17.14% |
| Elmwood Park | 175 | $225,000 | 185 | $255,000 | 13.33% |
| Melrose Park | 141 | $170,000 | 134 | $192,500 | 13.24% |
| Cicero | 316 | $149,000 | 263 | $165,500 | 11.07% |
| Riverside | 94 | $373,500 | 67 | $410,000 | 9.77% |
| Western Springs | 105 | $500,000 | 120 | $545,000 | 9.00% |
| Brookfield | 159 | $222,500 | 171 | $242,000 | 8.76% |
| Norridge | 100 | $262,500 | 101 | $285,000 | 8.57% |
| Berwyn | 378 | $201,250 | 358 | $217,250 | 7.95% |
| Berkeley | 38 | $177,000 | 36 | $187,250 | 5.79% |
| Northlake | 71 | $160,000 | 81 | $169,000 | 5.63% |
| Hinsdale | 30 | $680,000 | 32 | $717,500 | 5.51% |
| Oak Park | 494 | $337,500 | 473 | $351,000 | 4.00% |
| Willow Springs | 49 | $254,500 | 64 | $260,750 | 2.46% |
| North Riverside | 50 | $230,000 | 42 | $233,000 | 1.30% |
| Forest Park | 158 | $212,750 | 161 | $215,000 | 1.06% |
| Westchester | 171 | $238,000 | 164 | $239,500 | 0.63% |
| Indian Head Park | 45 | $220,000 | 53 | $218,000 | -0.91% |
| La Grange Park | 94 | $354,250 | 97 | $350,000 | -1.20% |
| Harwood Heights | 63 | $270,000 | 62 | $266,500 | -1.30% |
| River Forest | 123 | $499,000 | 109 | $470,000 | -5.81% |
| Schiller Park | 56 | $208,000 | 63 | $195,000 | -6.25% |
| River Grove | 65 | $182,000 | 54 | $167,500 | -7.97% |
| Burr Ridge | 48 | $540,000 | 34 | $481,250 | -10.88% |
| La Grange | 139 | $460,000 | 173 | $395,000 | -14.13% |
| Countryside | 41 | $190,000 | 38 | $131,000 | -31.05% |
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