Understanding Property Tax
Municipal Tax Competitiveness Study
Contact Us
Kayla Petrovsky Fleming, CPA, CA
Manager, Budgets and Fiscal Policy
Email [email protected]
2025 Municipal Tax Competitive Study Executive Summary
Since 2000, BMA Management Consulting Inc. has annually completed a municipal comparative study on behalf of participating Ontario municipalities. The Executive Summary provides an overview of the analysis contained in the comprehensive report.
The study identifies both key quantifiable indicators and selective environmental factors that should be considered as part of a comprehensive evaluation of a local municipality's financial condition. Use of the study over a number of years provides trends to allow decision makers to monitor selected indicators over time. Trend analysis helps to provide interpretative context. In addition, context can be provided by comparing a municipality's own experience with the experience of other municipalities.
The analysis was completed using the most recent information available as provided by the participating municipalities including:
Socio-economic indicators describe and quantify a municipality’s wealth and economic conditions and provide insight into a municipality’s collective ability to generate revenue relative to the municipality’s demand for public services. An evaluation of socio-economic factors contributes to the development of sound financial policies. An examination of local economic and demographic characteristics can identify the following situations:
- Changes in the tax base as measured by population, property value, employment, or business activity
- A need to shift public service priorities because of demographic changes in the municipality
- A need to shift public policies because of changes in economic conditions
| Socio-Economic Factors | Hamilton | Total Survey Average | GTHA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Population Density per sq. km. | 588 | 573 | 1,275 |
| 2016-2021 Population Increase % | 6.0% | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| 2024 Building Construction Value per Capita | $7,794 | $4,330 | $4,138 |
| 2025 Estimated Average Household Income | $117,152 | $127,959 | $157,568 |
| 2025 Weighted Median Value of Dwelling | $381,778 | $364,259 | $613,845 |
| 2025 Unweighted Assessment per Capita | $131,469 | $168,920 | $215,018 |
| 2025 Weighted Assessment per Capita | $152,079 | $168,431 | $226,357 |
The Municipal Financial Indicators section of the report includes a number or measures such as the financial position, operating surplus, asset composition ratio, reserves, debt and taxes receivables.
Key financial indicators have been included to help evaluate each municipality’s existing financial condition and to identify future challenges and opportunities. A number of industry recognized indicators that are used by credit rating agencies and/or recommended by Government Finance Officers’ Association (GFOA) and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing have been included. Indicators related to Sustainability, Flexibility and Vulnerability have been included. It should be noted that Water and Wastewater indicators have also been included in the Water/Wastewater section of the report.
The tables on the following page provide highlights from this section of the report.
Sustainability
The ability to provide and maintain service and infrastructure levels without resorting to unplanned increases in rates or cuts to services.
| 2024 Sustainability Indicators | Hamilton | Total Survey Average |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Position per Capita | n/a | $1,013 |
| Tax Asset Consumption Ratio | n/a | 44.1% |
| Net Financial Liabilities Ratio | n/a | (0.6) |
Vulnerability
Addresses a municipality’s vulnerability to external sources of funding that it cannot control and its exposure to risks.
| 2024 Sustainability Indicators - Reserves | Hamilton | Total Survey Average |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Reserves (less WWW) as % of Taxation | n/a | 98.1% |
| Tax Reserves as % of Own Source Revenues | n/a | 70.2% |
| Tax Reserves / Capita | n/a | $1,093 |
| 2024 Sustainability Indicators - Debt | Hamilton | Total Survey Average |
|---|---|---|
| Total Debt Charges (less WWW) as % of Own Source Revenue | n/a | 3.1% |
| Total Debt Outstanding / Capita | n/a | $686 |
| Total Debt Outstanding (less WWW) / Capita | n/a | $502 |
| Debt Outstanding per Own Source Revenue | n/a | 32.5% |
| Debt to Reserve Ratio | n/a | 0.5 |
Flexibility
The ability to issue debt responsibly without impacting the credit rating. Also, the ability to generate required revenues.
| 2024 Sustainability Indicators | Hamilton | Total Survey Average |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes Receivable as % of Taxes Levied | n/a | 7.6% |
| Rates Coverage Ratio | n/a | 95.9% |
In order to better understand the relative tax position for a municipality, another measure that has been included in the study is a comparison of net municipal levies on a per capita and per $100,000 basis. This measure indicates the total net municipal levy needed to provide services to the municipality. This analysis does not indicate value for money or the effectiveness in meeting community objectives. Net municipal expenditures per capita may vary as a result of:
As such, this analysis is not an “apples to apples” comparison of services, but rather has been included to provide insight into the net cost of providing municipal services within each municipality. Further analysis would be required to determine the cause of the differences across each spending envelope and within each municipality. This analysis was completed using the most current information available – net municipal levies as per the 2025 municipal levy by-laws and the 2025 estimated populations.
| 2025 | Hamilton | Total Survey Average | GTHA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Municipal Levy per Capita | $1,890 | $1,971 | $1,885 |
| Net Municipal Levy per $100,000 Unweighted CVA | $1,438 | $1,321 | $936 |
User Fees
A number of user fees have been included in the Study including the following:
| 2025 | Hamilton | Total Survey Average | GTHA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development Charges - Single Detached | $90,259 | $62,958 | $135,842 |
| Residential Building Permit Fee | $3,059 | $2,774 | $3,232 |
Comparison of Tax Ratios
Tax ratios reflect how a property class tax rate compares to the residential rate. Changes in tax ratios affect the relative tax burden between classes of properties. Tax ratios can be used to prevent large shifts of the tax burden caused by relative changes in assessment among property classes as well as to lower the tax rates on a particular class or classes.
| 2025 Tax Ratios | Hamilton | Total Survey Average |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Residential | 2.0000 | 1.6695 |
| Commercial (Residual) | 1.9800 | 1.6588 |
| Industrial (Residual) | 2.9156 | 2.1016 |
Taxes and Comparison of Relative Taxes
The purpose of this section of the report is to undertake “like” property comparisons across each municipality and across various property types. In total there are 12 property types in the residential, multi-residential, commercial and industrial classes. There are many reasons for differences in relative tax burdens across municipalities and across property classes including, but not limited to:
- Differences in values of like properties
- Differences in the tax ratios and the use of optional classes
- Non-uniform education tax rates in the non-residential classes
- Level of service provided and the associated costs
- Extent to which a municipality employs user fees
- Access to other sources of revenues such as dividends from hydro utilities and casino revenues
| 2025 Property Taxes | Hamilton | Total Survey Average | GTHA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached Bungalow | $5,505 | $4,155 | $5,398 |
| 2 Storey Home | $6,802 | $5,478 | $6,337 |
| Senior Executive Home | $8,740 | $7,675 | $8,674 |
| Walk Up Apartment (per Unit) | $2,254 | $1,620 | $1,821 |
| Mid/High Rise (per Unit) | $2,091 | $2,159 | $2,087 |
| Neigh. Shopping (per sq. ft.) | $6.11 | $4.13 | $4.94 |
| Office Building (per sq. ft.) | $3.83 | $3.40 | $3.86 |
| Hotels (per Suite) | $2,429 | $1,811 | $1,714 |
| Motels (per Suite) | $1,631 | $1,361 | $1,548 |
| Industrial Standard (per sq. ft.) | $2.81 | $1.75 | $2.27 |
| Industrial Large (per sq. ft) | $1.23 | $1.23 | $1.60 |
| Industrial Vacant Land (per Acre) | $15,891 | $5,524 | $13,577 |
Comparison of Water and Sewer Cost of Service
A comparison was made of water/sewer costs in each municipality. The following table summarizes the costs in the municipality for water and sewer on typical annual consumption against the overall survey average.
| 2025 Water/Sewer Cost of Service | Hamilton | Total Survey Average | GTHA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential - 200 m3 | $1,062 | $1,469 | $1,133 |
| Commercial - 10,000 m3 | $50,312 | $47,617 | $44,724 |
| Industrial - 30,000 m3 | $147,724 | $137,762 | $130,820 |
| Industrial - 100,000 m3 | $481,038 | $450,999 | $423,384 |
| Industrial - 500,000 m3 | $2,375,075 | $2,220,813 | $2,069,842 |
2025 Property Taxes and Water/Wastewater Costs as a % of Income
This section of the report provides a comparison of the availability of gross household income to fund municipal services on a typical household. This provides a measure of affordability within each community.
| 2025 Affordability Indicators | Hamilton | Total Survey Average | GTHA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Taxes as a % of Household Income | 4.9% | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| Water/Sewer + Taxes as a % of Household Income | 5.8% | 5.0% | 4.6% |
Additional Municipal Tax Competitiveness Studies
Date modified