The Cost of Staying: Property Taxes, Insurance and Maintenance Climb in 2026
Even homeowners who secured a low mortgage rate are paying more to live in their homes. Property taxes, insurance premiums and the running bill for upkeep have climbed on their own tracks, independent of interest rates. New data from CoreLogic, the Consumer Federation of America, ICE Mortgage Technology and Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies shows how heavy the cost of staying has become, and a fresh survey finds nearly two thirds of homeowners now call it a financial stress.
Property taxes: up 27% since 2019
Property taxes on single family homes rose 5.1% from 2023 to 2024, according to CoreLogic, with the median 2024 property tax payment at $3,018. That annual increase sits on top of a much bigger run: nationally, average property tax bills climbed 27% from 2019 to 2024. (Earlier drafts of this story rounded that figure up; the verified number is 27%.)
The increases followed home values upward, but unevenly. In Florida, property taxes rose 9.5% per year since 2019 while home prices climbed 14.6% annually; by October 2024 the median single family price in Florida was $393,500, above the national average. North Carolina shows the same pattern at lower levels: values grew 13.9% annually, and even with a 0.79% tax rate, among the most affordable in the country, median payments reached $1,750 in 2024. In Maricopa County, Arizona, prices have climbed 64.3% since 2019 while tax bills sit 15.4% above pre pandemic levels. And in high in migration counties across Florida, California and Texas, where prices rose over 40%, property taxes rose over 30%.
California's five most populous counties tell a consistent story. From 2019 to 2024, property tax bills rose 32.7% in San Bernardino, 32.3% in Riverside, 29.9% in Los Angeles, 29.5% in San Diego and 25.1% in Orange County.
Insurance: 24% in three years, then a record $209 a month
Homeowners insurance is the fastest moving of the three bills. The Consumer Federation of America found that from 2021 to 2024, annual premiums for a typical homeowner rose an average of 24%, or $648, reaching $3,303 a year by 2024. The CFA characterizes that as rising twice as fast as inflation, and estimates a $21 billion total price hike for Americans over the three years. A note on the math: BLS CPI data show cumulative inflation of 13.2% over the same window, so the premium rise is closer to 1.8 times inflation. That is the basis for the CFA's "twice as fast" characterization, which is fair as a rounded description.
The pain was nearly universal. Premiums rose in 95% of U.S. ZIP codes, and in one third of ZIP codes they jumped more than 30%. The sharpest state level increases were Utah at 59%, Illinois at 50%, Arizona at 48% and Pennsylvania at 44%. The most expensive states to insure a home are Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Nebraska.
The latest data shows the pressure easing, not ending. In Q2 2026, the average single family mortgage holder paid a record $209 a month for property insurance, $2,508 annualized, nearly 80% more than at the start of 2020, according to ICE Mortgage Technology. Insurance now eats 9.6% of the average monthly mortgage payment, ranging from 24.3% in New Orleans to 4.3% in San Jose. Annual costs rose 8.7%, down from 11.4% at the start of 2026 and a 15.1% peak at the end of 2024; the 1.8% quarterly gain was the smallest since ICE began tracking the metric.
Two thirds of the past year's increase came from higher coverage limits, up 5.5%, with the cost per $1,000 of coverage up 3%. There is also a loyalty penalty: homeowners who switched private carriers over the past year cut premiums by a record 6.6% on average, saving $440 a year, while those who stayed saw premiums rise 10.4%. The fastest metro increases were Greenville, South Carolina at 15.8%, Honolulu at 14.7%, Minneapolis at 13.1%, and Sacramento and San Diego at roughly 12%.
State snapshots: Texas relief, California FAIR Plan, Illinois lawsuit
Texas offers rare good news. The Texas Department of Insurance reports that most homeowners insurance companies filing rate changes since July 1, 2026 proposed decreases, affecting about 700,000 policyholders, with filed changes averaging a 4.3% decrease over the past 90 days. That 4.3% is a simple average of filings, not weighted by policyholder count, so it is not exactly what the average Texan experiences. Still, ASI Lloyds, a Progressive company, filed a 6% decrease affecting 71,000 policyholders, and Texas Farm Bureau Mutual filed a 5.2% decrease affecting 133,000, both among the top 10 insurance groups in the state by premium volume.
California's last resort insurer keeps growing. The California FAIR Plan had 696,562 policies in force as of June 2026, up 157% since September 2022, with $768 billion in total exposure, up 250%, and $2.04 billion in written premium. The state insurance department approved a 29.1% average rate increase for the plan's dwelling program, after the plan had requested 35.8%, with new rates taking effect October 15, 2026. The plan notes that not every customer will see the full amount and some will see a premium decrease, with the wildfire portion driving the largest increases.
In Illinois, the state attorney general's complaint against State Farm states the company implemented a 27% rate increase on its Illinois policyholders in July 2025, and that its written homeowners premiums rose over 16% nationwide in 2024, the largest yearly increase since 2002. The complaint further alleges that even after adjusting for inflation, premiums have increased nearly 74% since the 2007 to 2009 Great Recession, and that from 2017 to 2022 they rose 40% faster than inflation. Those are allegations in a court complaint, not adjudicated findings.
Maintenance: a $518 billion combined bill
Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies expects annual homeowner spending on improvements and maintenance to owner occupied homes to reach $518 billion by the end of 2026, up from $509 billion in Q4 2025. Note the framing: JCHS measures improvements and maintenance combined, not maintenance alone. Year over year growth was 2.1% in mid 2026 and is expected to ease to 1.6% by year end.
The running repair bill is also the one homeowners feel most directly. A new Hometap survey, conducted by AYTM from October 4 to 6, 2026 among 1,000 U.S. homeowners with a plus or minus 3 point margin of error, found that after utilities at 31%, maintenance and repairs are the most stressful homeownership cost at 17%, ahead of mortgage payments at 10% and insurance at 9%. Homeowners weighing which jobs to keep in house can read our guide to <a href="diy-vs-hire-pro-home-repairs.html">DIY versus hiring a pro</a>, and our companion story tracks the longer trend in <a href="home-improvement-costs-up-76-percent-decade-october-2026.html">home improvement costs</a>.
The equity paradox
Here is the paradox of 2026 homeownership: households are sitting on record wealth while reporting widespread financial stress. Federal Reserve data show that in Q2 2026, owner occupied real estate totaled $49.8 trillion against $14.0 trillion in home mortgages, leaving $35.8 trillion in aggregate owners' equity, a 71.9% equity share. Yet the equity is trapped. Per Redfin's analysis of FHFA data, 80.3% of mortgaged homeowners still hold rates below 6%, down from a 92.7% record in Q2 2022; 19.7% are now at 6% or above, the highest share since 2015. For scale, 52.5% remain below 4% and 20.4% below 3%.
The Hometap survey quantifies the mood. 63% of homeowners say owning causes at least moderate financial stress, up from 55% in June 2025. (The survey's own figure is 63%, not the 63.2% that circulated elsewhere.) With midterms approaching, 77% say a candidate's platform to cut costs would sway their vote, but only 26% believe the right candidate could actually lower their costs, and 71% expect costs to rise no matter who wins. Property taxes are the top voting issue at 35%; 75% have seen their tax bill rise in the past two years, yet 51% do not know of a property tax measure on their ballot. The generational split is stark: 77% of Millennial homeowners are at least moderately stressed, versus 48% of Baby Boomers.
Canada: a cooler mirror
Canada's data tells a milder version of the same story. In September 2026, headline CPI rose 3.1% year over year, with shelter up 1.8%. Homeowners' home and mortgage insurance climbed 4.9%, maintenance and repairs rose 1.2%, and replacement cost fell 1.9%; the mortgage interest cost index fell 0.2% while rent rose 2.8%. One qualification: Statistics Canada's own site was unreachable on our research date, so these figures come from corroborated reproductions of the September release in multiple independent outlets rather than the source page itself, and the URL should be re verified before publication.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much have U.S. property taxes risen?
Per CoreLogic, property taxes on single family homes rose 5.1% from 2023 to 2024, with the median 2024 payment at $3,018. From 2019 to 2024, average tax bills climbed 27%.
How fast have homeowners insurance premiums grown?
The Consumer Federation of America found premiums rose an average of 24% from 2021 to 2024, reaching $3,303 a year, with increases in 95% of ZIP codes. ICE Mortgage Technology reports that by Q2 2026 the average mortgaged homeowner paid a record $209 a month, nearly 80% more than at the start of 2020, though the rate of growth is now slowing.
Is Texas homeowners insurance getting cheaper?
Filing data from the Texas Department of Insurance shows most companies that filed rate changes since July 1, 2026 proposed decreases, with filed changes averaging a 4.3% decrease over the past 90 days. Note that figure is a simple average of filings, not a policyholder weighted average, so it describes filings more than it describes what the typical Texan pays.
What is happening with the California FAIR Plan?
As of June 2026 the plan covered 696,562 policies, up 157% since September 2022, with $768 billion in exposure. A 29.1% average dwelling rate increase took effect October 15, 2026, driven largely by wildfire costs, though the plan says not all customers will see the full amount.
How much are homeowners spending on upkeep?
Harvard's JCHS expects annual spending on home improvements and maintenance combined to reach $518 billion by the end of 2026. That is a combined measure, not maintenance alone, and growth is expected to ease from 2.1% mid year to 1.6% by year end.
Are homeowners stressed enough for it to matter politically?
In a Hometap survey of 1,000 U.S. homeowners in early October 2026, 63% reported at least moderate financial stress from homeownership, up from 55% in June 2025. Property taxes ranked as the top voting issue at 35%, though 51% of homeowners said they did not know of a property tax measure on their ballot.
