Comparing Ontario cities by property tax requires separating two figures. The tax rate is a percentage applied to a property’s assessed value, while the actual bill is the amount a household pays each year. The two rankings do not match. In the BMA study (2025), Toronto (South) had the highest average bill for a detached bungalow, at $7,750, among Ontario municipalities with more than 100,000 residents. Yet Toronto had the lowest rate of the five lowest in Ontario in the 2021 Zoocasa report, at 0.61%. Reading either number alone gives an incomplete picture of what a home costs to hold.
Tax Rate or Actual Bill?
The bill is calculated as follows:
annual bill = tax rate × assessed value
A low rate can therefore produce a high bill when assessed values are high, and a higher rate can produce a modest bill on a lower-value property. Rate and bill answer different questions: the rate shows how hard a municipality taxes each dollar of assessed value, and the bill shows what that means for a specific property.
Rates (Zoocasa, 2021)
| Rank | City | Tax rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto | 0.61% |
| 2 | Markham | 0.63% |
| 3 | Richmond Hill | 0.65% |
| 4 | Vaughan | 0.66% |
| 5 | Milton | 0.68% |
All five cities are in the Greater Toronto Area.
Average bills (BMA, 2025)
| City | Average annual property tax |
|---|---|
| Toronto (South) | $7,750 (highest) |
| Milton | $4,605 |
| Barrie | $4,589 (detached bungalow; 22nd of 33 Ontario municipalities over 100,000 residents) |
| Cambridge | $4,575 |
| Chatham-Kent | $3,904 (lowest) |
Reading the two sets together
- Toronto has the lowest rate of the five listed in 2021 and the highest bill in 2025. Assessed value may explain part of this gap, but the sources consulted do not give Toronto’s assessed values.
- Milton sits fifth on the 2021 rate list and has a 2025 bill of $4,605, close to Barrie’s $4,589.
- Chatham-Kent has the lowest 2025 bill in the comparison, but its rate is not included in the sources consulted.
How to compare a specific city
- Find the current rate for the municipality and the year you are assessing.
- Obtain the assessed value of the property type you are considering.
- Multiply the two figures to estimate the annual bill.
- Check the result against a published average bill for the same property type, such as the BMA figure for a detached bungalow in Barrie.
Which Ontario cities have the lowest property tax rates?
A tax rate is a percentage applied to a property’s value, while the annual bill is the dollar amount a homeowner pays. The two rankings do not match. According to Canadian Mortgage Professional (2021-11-11), the five lowest tax rates in Ontario were all in the Greater Toronto Area. Those rates are older than the bill figures below, so check them against current municipal budgets before comparing.
| Rank | City | Tax rate (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto | 0.61% |
| 2 | Markham | 0.63% |
| 3 | Richmond Hill | 0.65% |
| 4 | Vaughan | 0.66% |
| 5 | Milton | 0.68% |
For dollar amounts, the BMA 2025 study, as published by the City of Barrie (2025), reports average 2025 property tax bills for a detached bungalow in Ontario municipalities with more than 100,000 residents. Barrie’s bill of $4,589 ranks 22nd of 33 municipalities.
| City | Average 2025 bill (detached bungalow) |
|---|---|
| Chatham-Kent | $3,904 (lowest) |
| Cambridge | $4,575 |
| Barrie | $4,589 |
| Milton | $4,605 |
| Toronto (South) | $7,750 (highest) |
Milton has one of the five lowest rates and a bill of $4,605, which is not among the lowest. The rate is only one input. The assessed value of the property sets the taxable base, so a low rate applied to a high-value home can produce a larger bill than a higher rate applied to a modest one. Toronto shows this gap most clearly: it has the lowest rate in the 2021 list and the highest bill in the 2025 comparison.
Use the two tables together rather than either one alone. If you are shortlisting cities, rank them by rate to understand the municipal charge, then by bill to estimate what a specific type of home will cost each year.
Highest and lowest average tax bills in the BMA 2025 comparison
In the BMA 2025 comparison, the highest average property tax bill for a detached bungalow is in Toronto (South), at $7,750. Chatham-Kent has the lowest bill among the municipalities compared, at $3,904, a gap of $3,846 for the same property type. According to the City of Barrie (2025), which published the BMA study, these are bills, not rates. The official sources consulted do not provide a ranking of the highest tax rates for this study, so a city with the highest bill cannot be assumed to have the highest rate.
Bills in the BMA 2025 comparison
| Municipality | Average 2025 tax bill (detached bungalow) |
|---|---|
| Toronto (South) | $7,750 (highest in the comparison) |
| Milton | $4,605 |
| Barrie | $4,589 (22nd of 33 Ontario municipalities over 100,000 residents) |
| Cambridge | $4,575 |
| Chatham-Kent | $3,904 (lowest in the comparison) |
Why a high bill does not mean a high rate
A tax bill is calculated from the assessed value of a property multiplied by the tax rate set by the municipality. A city with high property values can therefore show a large bill even when its rate is low.
The Canadian Mortgage Professional (2021), reporting on a 2021 Zoocasa report, lists the five lowest tax rates in Ontario, all in the Greater Toronto Area: Toronto at 0.61%, Markham at 0.63%, Richmond Hill at 0.65%, Vaughan at 0.66%, and Milton at 0.68%. Toronto therefore appears both at the top of the 2025 bill ranking and at the bottom of the 2021 rate ranking. These two sources cover different years and different measures, so their figures should not be combined into one comparison.
What the BMA Study Shows About Tax Bills
According to the BMA study (2025), as reported by the City of Barrie (2025), the average 2025 property tax bill for a detached bungalow in Barrie is $4,589. Barrie ranks 22nd out of 33 Ontario municipalities with more than 100,000 residents. The same comparison shows a wide gap between the highest and lowest bills.
| Municipality | Average 2025 tax bill (BMA study) |
|---|---|
| Toronto (South) | $7,750 |
| Milton | $4,605 |
| Barrie | $4,589 |
| Cambridge | $4,575 |
| Chatham-Kent | $3,904 |
The highest bill is in Toronto (South), at $7,750. The lowest bill is in Chatham-Kent, at $3,904. The gap between them is $3,846. Milton and Cambridge sit within $30 of each other, and Barrie falls between them.
Bills versus tax rates
A tax rate and a tax bill measure different things. The Zoocasa report (2021), as covered by Canadian Mortgage Professional (2021-11-11), lists the five lowest tax rates in Ontario. All five are in the Greater Toronto Area.
| Municipality | Tax rate (Zoocasa report, 2021) |
|---|---|
| Toronto | 0.61% |
| Markham | 0.63% |
| Richmond Hill | 0.65% |
| Vaughan | 0.66% |
| Milton | 0.68% |
Toronto has the lowest rate in this list but the highest bill in the BMA comparison. A bill reflects both the rate and the assessed value of the property, so a low rate does not guarantee a low bill. Milton appears in both datasets, with a 0.68% rate in 2021 and a $4,605 bill in 2025. The two sources use different years, so their rankings should not be merged into one list.
Why a High Assessed Value Changes the Calculation
A municipal property tax bill depends on two separate variables: the assessed value of the property and the municipality’s tax rate. As a general method, the annual bill is roughly the assessed value multiplied by the combined rate, expressed as a percentage. A city with a low rate can still produce a high bill if property values are high, and a city with a high rate can produce a lower bill if values are modest. Comparing rates alone therefore does not show what an owner pays.
The Ontario data illustrates this. The BMA study (2025) reports an average 2025 municipal property tax bill for a detached bungalow in Barrie of $4,589, which places Barrie 22nd of 33 Ontario municipalities with more than 100,000 residents. The same study places Toronto (South) at the top of the range with $7,750, and Chatham-Kent at the bottom with $3,904. Milton ($4,605) and Cambridge ($4,575) sit close to Barrie.
The rate data points the other way. The Zoocasa report (2021), as reported by Canadian Mortgage Professional on 2021-11-11, found that the five lowest tax rates in Ontario were all in the Greater Toronto Area:
- Toronto: 0.61%
- Markham: 0.63%
- Richmond Hill: 0.65%
- Vaughan: 0.66%
- Milton: 0.68%
Toronto has both the lowest rate and the highest average bill in these figures. The gap is consistent with a low rate in a high-value market still generating a large bill, but the sources consulted do not give assessed values to confirm it. Milton and Toronto both appear in the two sources (the BMA figure is for Toronto (South)), so a rate and a bill can be read side by side for both. Because the two figures come from different publications and years, combining them is an approximation, not a precise calculation.
Toronto: the lowest rate, but the highest bill
Toronto has one of the lowest property tax rates in Ontario and still produces the highest annual bill in the BMA 2025 comparison. The two figures measure different things. The rate is a percentage; the bill is that percentage applied to the assessed value of the property. A low rate on a high assessment can cost more than a higher rate on a modest one.
The formula is: annual tax = assessed value × rate. Comparing rates alone therefore misleads. Compare the bill for the same property type across municipalities.
Rate versus bill. The Zoocasa report (2021), published by Canadian Mortgage Professional on 2021-11-11, ranks Toronto (0.61%) as the lowest rate among Ontario’s cities, followed by Markham (0.63%), Richmond Hill (0.65%), Vaughan (0.66%) and Milton (0.68%). The BMA 2025 study, cited by the City of Barrie (2025), measures average 2025 bills for a detached bungalow:
| Municipality | Average 2025 property tax bill |
|---|---|
| Toronto (South) | $7,750 |
| Milton | $4,605 |
| Barrie | $4,589 |
| Cambridge | $4,575 |
| Chatham-Kent | $3,904 |
Barrie ranks 22nd of 33 Ontario municipalities with more than 100,000 residents in this comparison.
Limits of the data. The two sources use different years and different methods, so the rate and the bill cannot be combined into one figure. The sources consulted do not give Toronto’s average assessed value, so assessed value may explain part of the gap but this cannot be confirmed here. The land transfer tax paid at purchase is a separate, one-time cost, and the sources used here do not quantify it.
Where to find official tax rates for your city?
Municipal property tax rates are set by each city, so the most reliable figure for a specific municipality is the one it publishes itself, not a ranking built by a third party. Two widely cited comparisons, one from 2025 and one from 2021, use different measures. One reports a typical total bill, the other a percentage rate. Identify which measure a source uses before comparing cities.
The two measures in circulation
- Average bill (2025): According to City of Barrie (2025), citing the BMA 2025 comparison, the average 2025 property tax bill for a detached bungalow in Barrie is $4,589. That places Barrie 22nd of 33 Ontario municipalities with more than 100,000 residents. The same comparison gives these bills:
| Municipality | Average 2025 bill, detached bungalow |
|---|---|
| Toronto (South) | $7,750 (highest) |
| Milton | $4,605 |
| Barrie | $4,589 |
| Cambridge | $4,575 |
| Chatham-Kent | $3,904 (lowest) |
- Percentage rate (2021): According to Canadian Mortgage Professional (2021-11-11), summarizing the Zoocasa report, the five lowest percentage rates in Ontario were all in the Greater Toronto Area: Toronto 0.61%, Markham 0.63%, Richmond Hill 0.65%, Vaughan 0.66% and Milton 0.68%.
How to verify a current figure
- Start with the city’s own website and search for its annual tax rate or tax-rate by-law. Municipal rates are adopted yearly, so note the year printed on the document.
- Check whether the number is a rate (a percentage applied to assessed value) or a total bill for a specific property type. A bill depends on the assessed value, so a low rate does not automatically mean a low bill.
- Confirm whether the total includes all levies, such as education and regional charges where they apply. The official sources consulted do not specify how each report handles these components, so treat third-party totals as indicative.
- Read the methodology note of the report, which should state the property type and assessed value used.
Frequently asked questions
Why can a city with a lower tax rate still have a higher property tax bill?
The annual bill is the tax rate multiplied by the property’s assessed value, so a low rate can be outweighed by a high assessed value. In the BMA study (2025), Toronto (South) had the highest average bill among Ontario municipalities with more than 100,000 residents, at $7,750 for a detached bungalow. Zoocasa’s 2021 figures put Toronto’s rate at 0.61%, the lowest of the five lowest in Ontario, but the sources consulted do not give Toronto’s average assessed value, so this explanation cannot be confirmed.
Can I rank Ontario cities by tax rate and bill in one comparison?
No. The rate figures come from Zoocasa’s 2021 report and cover five Greater Toronto Area cities, while the bill figures come from the 2025 BMA study and cover a different set of municipalities. Toronto and Milton appear in both, but the two datasets should be read side by side as an indicative comparison, not merged into a single ranking.
How should I use these bill figures when estimating my own property tax?
Treat each figure as an average for a detached bungalow in that comparison, not a quote for a specific home. The BMA study places Barrie at $4,589, 22nd of 33 municipalities, between Milton ($4,605) and Cambridge ($4,575), while Chatham-Kent’s average bill of $3,904 is the lowest in the group. To estimate your own bill, apply the municipal rate to the assessed value of the home you are considering.
