Real estate, sourced and dated. No opinions, just evidence.

Payotte study · Source data

The cost of buying a home, state by state

Loan costs, property tax and insurance for the first year, each from its official source, and the state transfer tax beside them.

In short

Adding the three costs Payotte measures at the source for a home buyer's first year (the lender's loan costs actually paid in 2025, the property tax owners pay, and the homeowners insurance premium), the median state comes to $10,792. The highest are New Jersey ($18,647), California ($16,044), Hawaii ($15,276); the lowest Indiana ($6,978), Iowa ($7,235), West Virginia ($7,415). The state transfer tax on the median home, shown separately because the seller often pays it, adds up to $9,815 in Delaware.

The 50 states

StateLoan costs at closingProperty tax, 1 yearInsurance, 1 yearTotalState transfer tax on the median homePaid by
New Jersey$7,459$9,590$1,598$18,647not computed
on $530,800		seller
California$9,303$5,124$1,617$16,044not computed
on $770,700		by contract
Hawaii$10,901$2,239$2,136$15,276not computed
on $901,500		seller
Connecticut$6,521$6,643$1,908$15,072$4,239 to $5,299
on $423,900		seller
Texas$8,435$4,232$2,249$14,916$0
on $318,100		—
Florida$8,695$2,730$3,211$14,636$2,777
on $396,700		by contract
New York$6,419$6,582$1,218$14,219$1,884
on $470,900		seller
Washington$7,599$4,556$1,304$13,459$6,807
on $605,600		seller
Maryland$7,783$4,093$1,520$13,396$2,229
on $445,800		shared
Massachusetts$5,546$5,992$1,850$13,388$2,859
on $626,900		seller
Illinois$6,257$5,298$1,563$13,118$295
on $294,400		shared
Alaska$7,738$3,901$1,283$12,922$0
on $385,100		—
Oregon$7,731$3,876$1,153$12,760$0
on $507,900		—
New Hampshire$4,693$6,667$1,365$12,725$3,653
on $487,100, per party		shared
Rhode Island$5,749$4,900$2,001$12,650not computed
on $478,700		seller
Montana$7,485$2,693$1,823$12,001$0
on $427,500		—
Idaho$8,727$2,038$1,235$12,000$0
on $457,800		—
Georgia$8,015$2,341$1,635$11,991not computed
on $346,500		seller
Utah$8,327$2,525$1,041$11,893$0
on $543,400		—
Nevada$8,430$2,027$1,077$11,534$1,792
on $459,400		shared
Colorado$6,259$2,602$2,538$11,399$57
on $567,600		by contract
Arizona$8,315$1,879$1,172$11,366$0
on $427,600		—
Vermont$5,122$5,039$1,203$11,364$3,349
on $359,800		buyer
Virginia$6,796$2,790$1,280$10,866not computed
on $422,600		by contract
Pennsylvania$6,490$3,311$1,015$10,816$2,924
on $292,400		shared
Minnesota$5,553$3,357$1,858$10,768$1,168
on $353,800		seller
Wyoming$7,301$1,767$1,667$10,735$0
on $357,300		—
Oklahoma$6,170$1,599$2,525$10,294$351
on $234,000		seller
Delaware$7,353$1,768$1,125$10,246$9,815
on $392,600		shared
North Dakota$5,761$2,468$1,930$10,159$0
on $281,700		—
South Dakota$5,625$2,724$1,794$10,143$300
on $299,100		seller
New Mexico$6,720$1,731$1,451$9,902$0
on $293,400		—
Louisiana$6,256$1,180$2,438$9,874$0
on $231,800		seller
Tennessee$6,596$1,442$1,677$9,715$1,262
on $341,200		buyer
Nebraska$3,502$3,549$2,434$9,485$930
on $279,200		seller
South Carolina$6,682$1,251$1,460$9,393$1,134
on $306,200		seller
Mississippi$6,211$1,215$1,921$9,347$0
on $192,700		—
Ohio$5,220$2,822$1,239$9,281$254
on $254,100		by contract
Maine$4,718$3,036$1,149$8,903not computed
on $370,300		shared
North Carolina$5,641$1,896$1,319$8,856$686
on $342,800		seller
Kansas$3,747$2,798$2,289$8,834$0
on $252,600		—
Alabama$6,096$788$1,857$8,741$247
on $246,500		by contract
Michigan$4,500$2,904$1,171$8,575$2,318
on $269,500		seller
Wisconsin$3,435$3,792$1,199$8,426$950
on $316,500		seller
Missouri$4,246$1,948$1,989$8,183$0
on $271,400		—
Kentucky$4,923$1,544$1,526$7,993$242
on $242,000		seller
Arkansas$5,070$1,040$1,698$7,808$754
on $228,400		by contract
West Virginia$5,407$865$1,143$7,415$602 to $991
on $176,300		seller
Iowa$2,736$2,897$1,602$7,235not computed
on $237,000		seller
Indiana$3,899$1,614$1,465$6,978$0
on $255,200		—

Loan costs: median “total loan costs” (Closing Disclosure section D) on home purchase loans in 2025, HMDA. Property tax: median paid by owner-occupants, Census ACS 2020-2024. Insurance: median across ZIP Codes of the average premium per homeowners policy in 2022, Treasury Federal Insurance Office. Transfer tax: state part (and the county tax every county must charge in Connecticut, Michigan and West Virginia, as a range), computed on the state's median home value (ACS 2024) with the same rule as the calculator on each state page; “not computed” where the state rule cannot be reduced to one formula. Local transfer taxes are not included: see local transfer taxes.

What is not counted

The down payment; title insurance (see title insurance); recording fees; the appraisal and inspection; prepaid interest and the escrow deposit; HOA fees (see HOA fees by state); local transfer and mortgage taxes. Payotte does not have an official, comparable figure for them in every state, so it does not estimate them. The three costs come from different years (loan costs 2025, property tax 2020-2024, insurance 2022): read the total as a comparison between states.

Each cost in detail

Loan costs by county · Property tax by county · Home insurance cost by state · Closing costs explained

Questions

What does it cost to buy a home in the US besides the down payment?

For the first year, the three costs measured here add up to $10,792 in the median state: loan costs at closing, one year of property tax and one year of insurance. Title insurance, recording fees, appraisal, inspection and prepaid interest come on top and are not estimated here.

Which state is the most expensive to buy in?

On these three costs: New Jersey, $18,647 (loan costs $7,459, property tax $9,590, insurance $1,598); California, $16,044 (loan costs $9,303, property tax $5,124, insurance $1,617); Hawaii, $15,276 (loan costs $10,901, property tax $2,239, insurance $2,136).

General information drawn from the official sources cited and dated on this page. It is not legal, tax or financial advice: for your own situation, ask a licensed professional.

Sources