St. Paul property tax burden shifts west

If you own a typical home in the western third of St. Paul, it looks like your property taxes are headed up. But typical homeowners in Frogtown, Downtown or neighborhoods east of there can expect a property tax break next year.

Those calculations come from Ramsey County, and they're based on the proposed levies for the city, the county and the St. Paul School District. The levies could be reduced when budgets are finalized later this year, but for now, all three taxing authorities are proposing increases.

This map shows what would happen to the median home in each of St. Paul's 17 neighborhoods, with the largest increase expected in Merriam Park/Lex-Ham (up 9.5 percent) and the biggest drop expected in Payne/Phalen (down 6.1 percent).

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Neighborhood boundaries courtesy of Zillow.com. Data from Ramsey County.

The city's lower-income neighborhoods will shoulder a smaller percentage of the tax burden, because they've seen a much steeper decline in value than homes in more affluent neighborhoods.

Lower value homes throughout St. Paul will also see their tax bills decline because of a change in the way the state gives tax relief to homeowners. But that program will lead to increases in taxes on commercial and rental property in the city. The average apartment building in St. Paul could see a 16 percent tax increase next year because of the new system.

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