1/ Very interesting nugget. Equalized assessed value of property in Chicago metro (assessed value x state equalization factor) is about $247B. Comes to $29k per person in the metro.
2/ By county Cook has more than half of EAV in the metro ($143B). Counties by per capita:
DuPage: $39k
Lake: $35k
Will: $28k
Cook: $27k
Kane: $25k
McHenry: $25k
Kendall: $23k
DuPage: $39k
Lake: $35k
Will: $28k
Cook: $27k
Kane: $25k
McHenry: $25k
Kendall: $23k
3/ But I'm quite familiar with the south suburbs of Cook County, which prompted this exercise. The 30 south Cook municipalities (south of Chicago, east of I-57) average just $11k of EAV per capita.
4/ The south Cook muni with the highest EAV per capita, Olympia Fields, is $26k, still below the Cook County and regional averages. The lowest, Phoenix, is under $3k.
5/5 There are more than 400k people in south Cook who live in a vastly undervalued part of the metro and are hit with high tax rates to compensate. There is no way property tax dependent municipalities can be sustainable in this environment.
