Are Louisiana’s Taxes Really the Highest? The 2025 Numbers Might Shock You

Let's be honest, what's the one thing people in Shreveport-Bossier complain about more than the I-20 construction? Taxes.

You hear it all the time. "Our taxes are the worst," or "We're the most taxed state in the country." It's a constant refrain. But is it actually true? Are folks in Louisiana getting ripped off compared to the rest of the country? The data from 2024 and 2025 paints a very different, and much more complicated, picture.

When it comes to one of the biggest bills a person can pay, it turns out Louisiana is a lot cheaper than almost anywhere else in America.

Louisiana's Rock-Bottom Property Taxes: The 2025 Data

Let's get right to the big one: property taxes. This is the part of the tax debate that blows people's minds, especially when they talk to friends in other states. If you're a homeowner in Louisiana, you are getting a deal that most of the country can only dream of.

According to a 2025 analysis from The Motley Fool, Louisiana has an average effective property tax rate of just 0.58%. That's not just low, that's the 9th-lowest rate in the entire country. Rocket Mortgage's 2025 data backs this up, placing Louisiana's effective rate at a stunningly low 0.51%. They rank us as the 5th lowest state in America for property taxes.

What does that mean in real dollars? The U.S. Census Bureau's most recent data shows the median property tax paid in Louisiana is around $1,087 per year. That might seem like a lot, but let's look at the other end of the spectrum. In New Jersey, the median bill is a jaw-dropping $9,541. No, that's not a typo. They pay nearly nine times what we do. Family members up in Michigan or Wisconsin? They're paying thousands and thousands a year, too. When they hear a property tax bill from Bossier City, they think it's a joke. The truth is, when it comes to owning a home, Louisiana is one of the cheapest places to be.

If Our Taxes Are So Low, Why Does Everyone Feel So Broke?

Okay, so if our property taxes are in the bargain bin, why does it feel like we're getting nickeled-and-dimed to death? Why does every conversation about taxes in Shreveport or Bossier City end with people feeling ripped off?

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You likely already know the answer. You feel it every single time you go to the store...it's sales tax.

This is where Louisiana's bad reputation comes from. While the state has low property and income taxes, it also has the single highest combined state and local sales tax rate in the nation. At an average of 9.56%, making Louisiana number one in a contest nobody wants to win.

The state and local parishes have to get money from somewhere to pay for roads, schools, and police. In Louisiana, the decision was made to get it from what you buy, not from what you own (your house) or what you earn (your income).

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This creates a powerful perception problem. You don't pay your property tax every day. You pay it once or twice a year, or it's just rolled into the mortgage payment. But you pay sales tax every...single...day. Every time you buy groceries, a new comic book from a local shop, or a new shirt, you see that tax number at the bottom of the receipt. It's a constant, painful reminder, which makes it feel like we're being taxed more heavily than we actually are overall.

Why High Sales Tax Hits Louisiana's Working Families the Hardest

Here's the real problem with relying so much on sales tax: it's not fair. It's what experts call a "regressive" tax, which is a fancy way of saying it hurts poor people more than rich people.

Think about it this way: a billionaire and a fast-food worker both pay the same 9.56% sales tax on a gallon of milk, but that tax is a substantially bigger chunk of the fast-food worker's paycheck than the billionaire's wealth. People with lower incomes have to spend almost everything they earn just to get by on necessities like food, clothing, and transportation. That means nearly 100% of their income is getting hit by that 9.56% tax, while millionaires and billionaires are not even concerned about the fraction of a fraction of a percentage of their wealth that represents.

Someone making a million dollars a year isn't spending all their money on taxable goods. They're putting it into stocks, savings, and other investments that don't get hit by sales tax. The end result? The poorest families in Louisiana end up paying a much larger percentage of their total income in taxes than the wealthiest residents. That's the part that really stings.

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So, where does that leave us? Next time you hear someone say Louisiana has the "highest taxes," you'll know the real story. Are they right? Well, if they just bought a new car, they probably feel that way. But if they just paid their mortgage, they're in a way better spot than almost anyone else in America. The reality is, Louisiana is a low-tax state overall, but it's a system built on a trade-off: saving homeowners a ton of money while putting the biggest burden on the folks who can least afford it.