I used to live in upstate NY- Had a nice house, not a mansion, and it cost $250K. That actually gets you a great place. My property tax bill was $9500 a year when I sold it. Completely due to unions I might add- because the bulk of the tax was school tax...A friend owned a house that costs $500K and was paying nearly $20K a year. So California taxes are nothing compared to the Hell I used to live in lol.
I moved to South Carolina to get better weather and lower taxes. i now pay $5000 a year in property tax on a $750K house.Most of my neighbors are from Cali now. They escaped.
New York state educator's salaries are the highest in the country at $80,000. Alaska's are a close second. South Carolina's are only around $50,000 which is among the lowest. Both states have teacher's unions. In South Carolina it is SCEA. In New York it is NYSUT. South Carolina is a right-to-work state, while New York is not. Generally speaking, right to work states have fewer union members.
South Carolina's education ranks 48th or the 3rd worse state in the nation. New York ranks 23rd. If you are concerned about the quality of education for your children you might want to consider private school or moving to Massachusetts which ranks #1. New Jersey is 2nd, but their property taxes are through the roof...pun intended.
Property taxes do pay for services other than education. Where your property tax dollars are spent should be indicated on the tax invoice. West Linn/Wilsonville voters continue to approve additional tax levies for education. We also rank the highest in quality of education along with Lake Oswego and two other districts. All four are in upscale and highly desirable suburbs.