"Lowest taxes" means two different things. By absolute dollar bill, the cheapest LI districts are in Nassau's western edge (Hempstead, Uniondale, Freeport) where home values are lower. By effective rate, the cheapest are East End / Hamptons (Fire Island, Quogue, Amagansett) where homes are expensive but taxes are spread over a huge non-residential base. Both rankings below.
Quick answer: The lowest median property tax bill on LI is in Hempstead (Nassau) at $5,192/yr. But "cheap bill" and "cheap rate" are different things — see both rankings below.
| # | District | County | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hempstead | Nassau | $5,192/yr | $333,000 |
| 2 | Uniondale | Nassau | $5,271/yr | $401,000 |
| 3 | Freeport | Nassau | $5,688/yr | $393,000 |
| 4 | Fire Island | Suffolk | $6,098/yr | $1,128,743 |
| 5 | William Floyd | Suffolk | $6,696/yr | $385,417 |
| 6 | Roosevelt | Nassau | $6,867/yr | $354,000 |
| 7 | Oysterponds | Suffolk | $7,138/yr | $1,254,545 |
| 8 | Westbury | Nassau | $7,329/yr | $419,000 |
| 9 | Island Park | Nassau | $7,535/yr | $448,000 |
| 10 | Hampton Bays | Suffolk | $7,696/yr | $734,921 |
| 11 | Hicksville | Nassau | $8,026/yr | $482,000 |
| 12 | Westhampton Beach | Suffolk | $8,085/yr | $1,272,857 |
The lowest-bill LI districts mostly fall into two categories:
| # | District | County | Effective rate | Median bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sagaponack | Suffolk | 0.27% | $28,638/yr |
| 2 | Quogue | Suffolk | 0.37% | $9,223/yr |
| 3 | Bridgehampton | Suffolk | 0.38% | $15,427/yr |
| 4 | Southampton | Suffolk | 0.38% | $9,362/yr |
| 5 | Wainscott | Suffolk | 0.38% | $9,319/yr |
| 6 | Amagansett | Suffolk | 0.42% | $8,272/yr |
| 7 | Montauk | Suffolk | 0.49% | $9,002/yr |
| 8 | East Hampton | Suffolk | 0.51% | $10,021/yr |
| 9 | Fire Island | Suffolk | 0.54% | $6,098/yr |
| 10 | Sag Harbor | Suffolk | 0.55% | $9,518/yr |
| 11 | Oysterponds | Suffolk | 0.57% | $7,138/yr |
| 12 | Shelter Island | Suffolk | 0.59% | $9,814/yr |
If you're comparison-shopping LI districts, the effective rate is the apples-to-apples number. A $7,000 bill on a $400,000 home is a much heavier tax burden (1.75%) than a $9,000 bill on a $1.3M home (0.69%). The dollar-bill ranking can be misleading because it conflates the rate with the home value.
The effective-rate ranking above is dominated by East End districts because their tax burden is spread over a huge non-residential land area (preserved Pine Barrens, commercial, vacant) that pays its share of the school + town levy. Year-round residents benefit from that shared burden.
If you want the lowest absolute dollar bill, the western Nassau working-class districts win. If you want the lowest effective rate (cheapest tax per dollar of home value), the East End wins. Neither is a "deal" in absolute terms — Long Island taxes are high everywhere. But the math is different.
The Hempstead UFSD (school district) covers a working-class section of the Town of Hempstead with median home values around $333k. Lower home value × even Nassau's high rate = lower absolute bill. It doesn't mean the rate is good — it means the homes are cheaper.
Their effective rates are low. Their absolute dollar bills are not — East Hampton and Westhampton Beach residents pay $8-15k/yr on average. The reason the rate looks low is that the school district's tax base includes huge tracts of vacant + preserved land + commercial that share the burden. Year-round homeowners benefit, but you're still paying real money in absolute dollars.
Use the calculator with a price range and ZIP filters, or browse Nassau districts / Suffolk districts sorted by median bill. The "cheapest" district depends on what home price you're actually buying — a $600k home in a low-effective-rate East End district may cost the same as a $400k home in a higher-rate Nassau district.
See most expensive LI school districts for the top of the range — Jericho, Cold Spring Harbor, Lawrence, Garden City are the usual leaders.
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Estimates and educational content only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Verify with your county or town receiver, an attorney, or a CPA before making financial decisions.