Laserfiche WebLink
21 | Page <br />Tax Rates Compared to Other Cities <br />Lake Elmo remained low compared to tax rates of other Washington County cities in 2025 <br />and 2026, ranking 20th out of 27 Washington County cities in both years (presumes 2026 <br />Final Levies do not change much at final adoption). <br />When removing some of the smallest cities and largest cities, Lake Elmo will be the 8th <br />lowest tax rate out of the 10 cities that are closest in population. <br /> <br />City tax rates and levies vary drastically due to a variety of reasons. It may be that the <br />property values are higher or lower than other cities. It may be that the level of service they <br />provide is different; for instance, they may have full-time Fire, Police or Ambulance. They <br />may have debt related to buildings or infrastructure - or not - and they may be levying for <br />future needs - or not. So, while tax rate is a helpful comparison, it is only a single <br />perspective and should be looked at in terms of what services are provided, as well as the <br />tax capacity of the city. <br /> <br /> <br />0 <br />10 <br />20 <br />30 <br />40 <br />50 <br />60 <br />Stillwater Oak Park <br />Heights <br />Newport Forest Lake Saint Paul <br />Park <br />Hugo Mahtomedi Lake Elmo Scandia Grant <br />City Tax Rates <br />Washington County cities most comparable in population to Lake Elmo <br />2024 <br />2025 <br />2026 <br />Proposed