Reply #44: My tax rate is much higher in the burb

[kcwayne]

My property tax is substantially more in my township which is in Marion county (Indianapolis) than the neighboring townships. The property taxes of people 1 mile away who are in another county that is not part of Indianapolis are substantially more than mine.

The dominant factors are county/real estate value. No one likes the taxes, but they move into these areas for the schools, convenience, and neighborhood attractiveness and economic valuation.

People that live outside of Marion county pay higher rates because the infrastructure development costs are supported by a lower population base. A lot of the growth in those communities was fueled by white flight from school busing that was mandated in the 70s. The schools in the outlying counties have a much lower percentage of minorities, as does the population demographic.

So I would think the dominant factor in movement to the "real" burbs was racial more than taxes, since obviously, taxes are higher out there.