The Mill Rate Math: What the Same $500K House Costs to Own in 10 CT Towns

Connecticut property taxes are easier to compare when you turn mill rates into dollars. We took one $500,000 home and applied each town’s official FY2027 real estate mill rate, published by the CT Office of Policy and Management¹, to see what the tax would be per year and per month.

The math

Connecticut towns assess homes at 70 percent of market value². So a $500,000 home has a $350,000 assessment. The annual tax is the assessment times the mill rate, divided by 1,000. At a rate of 20 mills, that is $7,000 a year.

The same house in 10 towns

Source: CT Office of Policy and Management, Mill Rates (FY2014 to FY2027 data); City of Stamford Assessor, property assessment (FY2027 district rates); City of Norwalk, Tax Collector's legal notice, collection period July 2026; City of Norwalk, FY2027 Approved Operating Budget Book (pp. 13 to 14, 39). FY2027 runs July 2026 to June 2027 and is based on the October 1, 2025 grand list. *An illustration, not a tax bill: $500,000 market value assessed at 70 percent, times the FY2027 real estate mill rate, before special district rates, exemptions or credits. A lower rate after a revaluation does not mean a lower bill. †Stamford and Norwalk tax real estate at a different rate in each district; the range runs from the lowest to the highest district.

The gap between the lowest and highest town in this list is more than $1,000 a month on the same house. Over a 30-year mortgage that is a real difference in what you can afford.

What the table does not tell you

Home prices differ. A $500,000 house is below the 2025 median in Greenwich, Westport and Fairfield and above it in New Haven. In a low-rate, high-price town, the bill on a typical home can be as large as in a high-rate, lower-price town.

Revaluations move the rates. Fairfield (28.39 to 19.19), Westport (18.86 to 13.20) and Shelton (18.82 to 15.51) all cut their rates for FY2027 after revaluations¹. Assessments rose at the same time, so bills on many homes changed far less than the rate. When a town is due for revaluation, its current rate is a less reliable guide.

Districts and credits. Some addresses carry extra district rates for fire, sewer or associations³, and some owners qualify for credits or exemptions.

Cars are taxed too. Each town also taxes cars, at a motor vehicle rate capped at 32.46 mills for FY2027¹.

Milford vs Stratford: a neighbor comparison

Milford and Stratford sit next to each other on the shoreline. For FY2027, Milford’s rate is 28.67 and Stratford’s 37.73¹. On the same $500,000 home that is roughly $3,170 a year more in Stratford. Prices differ too: the 2025 single-family median was $539,000 in Milford and $470,000 in Stratford⁴⁵.

How to use this

1. Shortlist towns by commute and lifestyle.
2. Look up the assessment of each home you like on the assessor’s database.
3. Multiply by the current mill rate and add any district rate.
4. Add the result to your mortgage, insurance and commute to compare monthly costs.

The property tax guide explains assessments, appeals and relief programs and the cost of moving calculator fills in each town’s rate for you.

The bill on a typical home in each town

A fixed $500,000 house is a useful yardstick, but few people buy exactly that. Here is the FY2027 tax on each town’s own 2025 SmartMLS single-family median, assessed at 70 percent¹.

In Greenwich, a home at the $2,504,475 median would pay about $17,750 a year⁶. In Westport, at $2,300,000, about $21,252⁷.

In Shelton, at $575,000, about $6,243⁸. In Fairfield, at $1,072,500, about $14,407⁹.

In Branford, at $575,000, about $8,919¹⁰. In Stamford, at $960,500, about $16,345 to $16,903, depending on the tax district¹¹.

In Milford, at $539,000, about $10,817⁴. In Norwalk, at $767,000, about $12,339 to $13,246, depending on the taxing district¹².

In Stratford, at $470,000, about $12,413⁵. In West Hartford, at $542,250, about $17,753¹³.

Notice how the order changes. Greenwich has the lowest rate on the list but one of the larger bills on a typical home, because typical homes cost so much more. Shelton has both a low rate and moderate prices, so its typical bill is the smallest here. West Hartford and Stratford have moderate prices but high rates.

The same exercise for condos

Condos change the picture again. On each town’s 2025 condo median, the FY2027 tax would be about $6,262 in Greenwich ($883,500), $12,289 in Westport ($1,330,000), $5,157 in Shelton ($475,000) and $8,530 in Fairfield ($635,000)¹.

It would be about $4,809 in Branford ($310,000), $7,573 to $7,831, depending on the tax district in Stamford ($445,000), $6,322 in Milford ($315,000), $6,636 to $7,124, depending on the taxing district in Norwalk ($412,500), $9,244 in Stratford ($350,000) and $11,295 in West Hartford ($345,000).

Milford’s rate is higher than the rates in Greenwich, Westport and Fairfield, so its moderate condo bill comes from lower prices, not a lower rate. For condo buyers in the Hartford area, West Hartford’s rate makes the tax a larger share of the monthly cost, so compare it with the condo fee and the price.

Revaluation: a worked example

Imagine a town where the total assessed value of all property rises 40 percent at revaluation, while the budget stays the same. The mill rate would fall by roughly the same proportion, so the average bill stays about the same.

Now imagine your home’s assessment rose 60 percent, more than the town average. Your bill would go up even though the rate fell. If your home’s assessment rose only 20 percent, your bill would go down.

That is why rate cuts like Fairfield’s and Westport’s for FY2027 do not tell you what happened to any one bill¹. Ask for the actual assessment and the current bill on each home you consider.

The car tax, in dollars

Each town also has a motor vehicle mill rate, capped by the state¹. For a car with a $21,000 assessed value, the FY2027 car tax would be about $213 in Greenwich, $277 in Westport, $326 in Shelton and $403 in Fairfield.

It would be about $465 in Branford, $511 in Stamford, $602 in Milford, $482 in Norwalk and $682 in both Stratford and West Hartford, where the cap applies. Households with two or three cars should multiply accordingly.

Using the assessor’s online database

Most Connecticut towns publish property records online, often through a vendor’s database. You can usually search by address and see the current assessment, the property’s details and sometimes recent sales.

Take the assessment, multiply by the mill rate and divide by 1,000. Then ask the tax collector or your attorney whether any district rate, credit or pending change applies. The property tax guide lists the questions to ask.

District rates in the cities

Some cities have several taxing districts, each with its own rate. For FY2027, Norwalk’s six districts run from 22.98 to 24.67 mills¹⁴ and Stamford’s four from 24.31 to 25.14¹⁵. Two homes in the same city can face different rates depending on the district, which is why the table shows a range for both cities. Per $100,000 of assessed value, that is $2,298 to $2,467 a year in Norwalk and $2,431 to $2,514 in Stamford.

When you look at homes in a city with districts, find out which district each address is in. The difference can be large enough to change your budget.

How to compare towns with these numbers

Use the fixed $500,000 example to see how rates compare, then use the typical-home figures to see what people actually pay. Then plug in your own price.

The cost of moving calculator applies each town’s rate for you. The costs and money page adds insurance, fees and commuting. The comparison pages put two towns side by side on price and tax: Stamford vs Norwalk, Westport vs Fairfield and Greenwich vs Darien.

When you have a short list of homes, get matched with a licensed Connecticut agent who can pull the assessment and tax history for each one.

Common mistakes with mill rates

The first mistake is comparing rates from different fiscal years. Always compare the same year for every town; on this site that is FY2027 unless a page says otherwise.

The second is ignoring revaluation. A town that has just revalued may look very different next year from a town that is about to. Ask when each town last revalued.

The third is forgetting the extras: district rates, the car tax and any sewer use charges billed separately. Each one adds to the true cost of living at an address.

The fourth is assuming a listing’s tax figure is current. Listings often show the seller’s last bill, which may be based on an older assessment or exclude exemptions the seller had. Check the town’s records yourself.

The fifth is comparing tax alone. A town with a higher rate may have lower prices, lower insurance or a shorter commute. Put every cost into one monthly figure before deciding. Our cost of living guide shows the other costs to include.

Mill rates and your mortgage approval

Lenders count property tax when they decide how much you can borrow. A higher tax bill raises your monthly housing cost and can lower the loan amount you qualify for, even at the same price.

That means the same budget can buy a more expensive home in a low-rate town than in a high-rate town. Ask your lender to run a pre-approval with the actual tax figure for each town you are considering, not a generic estimate.

If you are paying cash, the effect is on your ongoing budget rather than your approval. Either way, the tax is a cost you will pay every year you own the home.

Watching for changes after you buy

Each spring, towns adopt budgets for the coming fiscal year and set the new mill rate. Local news and town websites publish the proposed and final rates. Following the process gives you a few months’ notice of any change.

If your assessment seems wrong after a revaluation, towns have a process for informal review and a formal appeal to the board of assessment appeals, with deadlines. The property tax guide explains the steps.