Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year
Highest Costs Beyond the Mortgage in America
Tax, insurance, electricity, water and maintenance as a share of the total monthly cost of owning: everything the mortgage payment is not. Ranking the dollars would just reproduce a list of expensive counties, because all of those costs scale with the price of the house. The share does not: at one rate and one down payment the mortgage is the same fraction of price everywhere, so what moves this list is counties whose carrying costs are heavy for what the house is worth. The share depends on the rate and the 20% down payment this site models, and would shift if either changed.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Top 100
| # | County | State | Share beyond mortgage | Monthly beyond mortgage | Monthly to own |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Todd County | SD | 60.1% | $363 | $604 |
| 2 | Stewart County | GA | 57.7% | $385 | $668 |
| 3 | Willacy County | TX | 57.0% | $430 | $755 |
| 4 | Stonewall County | TX | 56.9% | $386 | $678 |
| 5 | Cottle County | TX | 56.5% | $375 | $664 |
| 6 | Hudspeth County | TX | 55.6% | $384 | $691 |
| 7 | Comanche County | KS | 55.6% | $401 | $720 |
| 8 | Cochran County | TX | 55.6% | $385 | $693 |
| 9 | Knox County | TX | 55.5% | $446 | $802 |
| 10 | Stanton County | KS | 55.3% | $425 | $768 |
| 11 | McDowell County | WV | 54.9% | $320 | $583 |
| 12 | Oglala Lakota County | SD | 54.9% | $296 | $540 |
| 13 | Elk County | KS | 54.5% | $389 | $714 |
| 14 | Dickens County | TX | 54.4% | $413 | $760 |
| 15 | Jewell County | KS | 54.2% | $392 | $723 |
| 16 | Crosby County | TX | 53.7% | $467 | $870 |
| 17 | Quitman County | MS | 53.5% | $421 | $788 |
| 18 | Menominee County | WI | 53.3% | $591 | $1,108 |
| 19 | Mellette County | SD | 53.2% | $382 | $719 |
| 20 | Fisher County | TX | 53.1% | $468 | $883 |
| 21 | Alexander County | IL | 53.0% | $354 | $667 |
| 22 | Mitchell County | TX | 52.7% | $510 | $968 |
| 23 | Allegany County | NY | 52.7% | $582 | $1,105 |
| 24 | Chautauqua County | KS | 52.7% | $376 | $714 |
| 25 | Garza County | TX | 52.6% | $470 | $894 |
| 26 | Foard County | TX | 52.4% | $419 | $800 |
| 27 | Allendale County | SC | 52.0% | $357 | $685 |
| 28 | Clark County | KS | 51.6% | $447 | $866 |
| 29 | Swisher County | TX | 51.5% | $505 | $981 |
| 30 | Lamb County | TX | 51.4% | $433 | $842 |
| 31 | Hardeman County | TX | 51.4% | $432 | $840 |
| 32 | Taliaferro County | GA | 51.3% | $412 | $802 |
| 33 | Edwards County | KS | 51.2% | $395 | $772 |
| 34 | Dawson County | TX | 51.2% | $508 | $993 |
| 35 | Holmes County | MS | 51.1% | $427 | $835 |
| 36 | Wilcox County | GA | 51.0% | $396 | $776 |
| 37 | Woodson County | KS | 50.9% | $427 | $839 |
| 38 | Rush County | KS | 50.9% | $439 | $863 |
| 39 | Hall County | TX | 50.8% | $443 | $871 |
| 40 | Harper County | KS | 50.8% | $426 | $839 |
| 41 | Coahoma County | MS | 50.8% | $476 | $937 |
| 42 | Breathitt County | KY | 50.8% | $340 | $670 |
| 43 | Republic County | KS | 50.7% | $417 | $823 |
| 44 | Decatur County | KS | 50.7% | $430 | $849 |
| 45 | Cattaraugus County | NY | 50.7% | $599 | $1,184 |
| 46 | Jefferson County | MS | 50.6% | $446 | $880 |
| 47 | Brooks County | TX | 50.6% | $453 | $894 |
| 48 | Edwards County | TX | 50.6% | $428 | $846 |
| 49 | Dimmit County | TX | 50.6% | $439 | $867 |
| 50 | Pawnee County | NE | 50.6% | $408 | $808 |
| 51 | Tillman County | OK | 50.5% | $392 | $776 |
| 52 | Orleans County | NY | 50.5% | $687 | $1,360 |
| 53 | Zavala County | TX | 50.4% | $478 | $949 |
| 54 | Ness County | KS | 50.4% | $463 | $919 |
| 55 | McPherson County | SD | 50.3% | $424 | $842 |
| 56 | Kinney County | TX | 50.3% | $478 | $951 |
| 57 | Wilkinson County | MS | 50.3% | $433 | $861 |
| 58 | Corson County | SD | 50.3% | $398 | $792 |
| 59 | Motley County | TX | 50.3% | $437 | $870 |
| 60 | Jones County | TX | 50.2% | $499 | $994 |
| 61 | McMullen County | TX | 50.2% | $585 | $1,166 |
| 62 | Noxubee County | MS | 50.1% | $456 | $911 |
| 63 | Cameron County | PA | 50.0% | $471 | $942 |
| 64 | Dewey County | SD | 50.0% | $402 | $805 |
| 65 | Throckmorton County | TX | 50.0% | $449 | $898 |
| 66 | Harmon County | OK | 49.9% | $403 | $807 |
| 67 | Briscoe County | TX | 49.9% | $441 | $883 |
| 68 | Humphreys County | MS | 49.9% | $472 | $946 |
| 69 | Coleman County | TX | 49.8% | $482 | $969 |
| 70 | Newton County | TX | 49.7% | $438 | $881 |
| 71 | McKinley County | NM | 49.6% | $378 | $763 |
| 72 | Clinch County | GA | 49.6% | $453 | $913 |
| 73 | Warren County | GA | 49.5% | $409 | $825 |
| 74 | Greenwood County | KS | 49.5% | $432 | $873 |
| 75 | Refugio County | TX | 49.5% | $494 | $998 |
| 76 | Morton County | KS | 49.5% | $500 | $1,010 |
| 77 | Jefferson County | OK | 49.5% | $405 | $819 |
| 78 | Nolan County | TX | 49.4% | $513 | $1,038 |
| 79 | Falls County | TX | 49.4% | $507 | $1,026 |
| 80 | Duval County | TX | 49.3% | $449 | $910 |
| 81 | La Salle County | TX | 49.3% | $524 | $1,064 |
| 82 | Stephens County | TX | 49.3% | $548 | $1,113 |
| 83 | Atkinson County | GA | 49.3% | $396 | $803 |
| 84 | Calhoun County | GA | 49.2% | $426 | $865 |
| 85 | Wheeler County | TX | 49.2% | $506 | $1,027 |
| 86 | Menard County | TX | 49.2% | $545 | $1,107 |
| 87 | Wilbarger County | TX | 49.2% | $511 | $1,039 |
| 88 | Calhoun County | MS | 49.1% | $427 | $870 |
| 89 | Letcher County | KY | 49.1% | $363 | $740 |
| 90 | Wheeler County | GA | 49.1% | $384 | $782 |
| 91 | Apache County | AZ | 49.1% | $353 | $718 |
| 92 | Jefferson Davis County | MS | 49.1% | $448 | $913 |
| 93 | Claiborne County | MS | 49.1% | $416 | $847 |
| 94 | Osborne County | KS | 49.1% | $436 | $888 |
| 95 | Rooks County | KS | 49.0% | $462 | $942 |
| 96 | Graham County | KS | 49.0% | $456 | $930 |
| 97 | Baylor County | TX | 49.0% | $478 | $977 |
| 98 | Tallahatchie County | MS | 48.9% | $420 | $859 |
| 99 | Grant County | OK | 48.9% | $406 | $831 |
| 100 | Donley County | TX | 48.9% | $462 | $945 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Highest Costs Beyond the Mortgage by state
The same ranking within a single state.
Alabama67Alaska26Arizona15Arkansas75California58Colorado64Florida67Georgia159Idaho44Illinois102Indiana92Iowa99Kansas105Kentucky120Louisiana64Maine16Maryland24Massachusetts14Michigan83Minnesota87Mississippi82Missouri115Montana56Nebraska93Nevada16New Jersey21New Mexico33New York62North Carolina100North Dakota53Ohio88Oklahoma77Oregon36Pennsylvania67South Carolina46South Dakota65Tennessee95Texas250Utah29Vermont14Virginia133Washington39West Virginia55Wisconsin72Wyoming23