Study shows hidden costs erase tax savings in rural, suburban communities

When Cynthia Miller went house shopping in 1997, she knew one thing: She didnt want to live in La Crosse.

Her grandmother lived on 19th Street on the South Side, and while Miller liked the neighborhoods, the houses were older and the taxes high -- more than $2,000 a year.

We wanted to be able to have a nice house and still be able to do things, Miller said. If we would have bought a $60,000 house in La Crosse, our taxes would have been almost as much as the house payment.

Its a common refrain about the city: Property taxes are high.

And they are.

The city has one of the highest property tax rates in the state, running 35 to 60 percent higher than in some surrounding communities. On a median priced home -- valued at $154,000 -- that can add up to an extra $1,700 a year in property taxes.

But a new report (and online calculator)shows it can be just as expensive -- if not more so -- to live in suburban and rural communities, where hidden costs from septic systems and wells to trash collection and higher insurance rates -- offset much of the tax savings. For those commuting every day to work, fuel bills can burn through the rest.

You need to look at the whole picture, said Karl Green, an associate professor with UW Extension and the author of the study.

Green said the study grew out of a 2009 report he did on the challenges an older housing stock presented the city of La Crosse. As he went around the county presenting his findings, Green asked people if they lived in the city, and if not, why.

The predominant response I got was taxes, he said. It started me thinking theres more to it than just that.

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Study shows hidden costs erase tax savings in rural, suburban communities