what will you pay in Fiscal Year 2026?

• Southwest Florida is home to both the highest and lowest property tax rates in the state.
• Several cities, including Fort Myers and Cape Coral, lowered their property tax rates for the upcoming fiscal year.
• Marco Island approved its first property tax rate increase in eight years.

Southwest Florida has both the city with the highest property tax rate and the city with the lowest in Florida.

Everglades City in Collier County approved the highest property tax, or millage, rate in the state for the current fiscal year, while Estero in Lee County approved the lowest. Marco Island argued for months but finally approved its first property tax rate increase in eight years. Fort Myers lowered its tax rate for the 10th consecutive year.

Fiscal Year 2026 began Oct. 1. Here’s a roundup of tax rates and budgets approved by local governments. Population figures are approximate.

What’s a mill?

Florida counties and municipalities approve millage rates as property tax rates. One mill equates to $1 for every $1,000 worth of a property’s assessed, or taxable, value (after adjustments, such as the homestead exemption for primary residents).

Your final property tax bill is based on the combined millage rate from all the local taxing bodies that serve your property, not just the county or a single city rate.

Lee County

Lee County Commissioners unanimously adopted a $3.015 billion budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year Tuesday, Sept. 16, marking a 5.27% increase from last year’s $2.88 billion budget. County employees will receive a 5% pay raise, and the Sheriff’s Office budget will increase to $342 million.

Population: 860,950

Budget total FY26 : $3.015 billionBudget total FY25: $2.88 billion

Property tax rate FY26: 3.7623 millsProperty tax rate FY25: 3.7623 mills

Fort Myers

Population: 99,918

Budget total FY26: $894.1 millionBudget total FY25: $662.6 million

Property tax rate FY26: 6.5000 millsProperty tax rate FY25:  6.5255 mills

Devastated by Hurricane Ian in 2022 and continuing to clean up and deal with damage from other named storms, Fort Myers Beach approved a 4% millage rate increase primarily intended to help restore the town’s emergency reserves, which were significantly drawn down after Hurricane Ian and later storms. Half of the new revenue from the millage rate increase will go into the town’s reserves.

To cut the budget further, the town council eliminated funding for New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July fireworks displayes. It also cut town-run pickleball and other youth sports leagues and agreed to leave several staff positions unfilled.

Population: 5,029

Budget total FY26: $53.6 millionBudget total FY25: $66.3 million

Property tax rate FY26: 1.0294 millsProperty tax rate FY25: 0.9900 mills

Village of Estero

For a second year, the Village of Estero has the lowest tax rate in Florida. The city has neither fire nor police of its own and has 12-15 employees at any given time. Celebrating its 10th year as a city, Estero is in the middle of a plan to convert all septic systems to sewer, to create interconnecting communities, parks, and entertainment spaces, all while keeping property taxes low and the village fiscally sound.

Population: 37,258

Budget total FY26: $108.7 millionBudget total FY25: $91.4 million

Property tax rate FY26: 0.7300 millsProperty tax rate FY25: 0.7300 mills

Bonita Springs

Population: 57,112

Budget total FY26: $52.1 million Budget total FY25: $51.5 million

Property tax rate FY26: 0.8470Property tax rate FY25: 0.8470

Sanibel Island

Another coastal community hit hard by Hurricane Ian and subsequent storms, Sanibel Island’s FY26 budget includes $77 million in a Hurricane Ian recovery fund.

Population: 6,420

Budget total FY26: $216.1 million, which includes about $77 million in its Hurricane Ian FundBudget total FY25: $233.2 million

Property tax rate FY26: 2.5000 millsProperty tax rate FY25: 2.5000 mills

Cape Coral

Cape Coral, located across the Caloosahatchee River from Fort Myers, approved a FY26 budget that adds 63 new positions but lowers the tax rate.

Population: 233,025

Budget total FY26: $1.4 billionBudget total FY25: $1.1 billion

Property tax rate FY26:  5.1471 millsProperty tax rate FY25:  5.2188 mills

Collier County

Collier County, the largest county in Florida by land mass at 1,997 square miles, raised its tax rate after two years of rollback, which means to lower rates to a level that keeps revenue the same as the previous year because of increased property values.

Population: 416,233

Budget total FY26: $3.12 billionBudget total FY25: $2.97 billion

Property tax rate FY26: 3.2449 mills

Property tax rate FY25: 3.2449 mills

Marco Island

The city raised its property tax rate for the first time in eight years. Previous city councils chose to rollback rates each of those years.

Population: 16,500

Budget total FY26: $140.5 millionBudget total FY25: $125.07 million

Property tax rate FY26: 1.267 millsProperty tax rate FY25: 1.2400 mills

Naples

Population: 20,168

Budget total FY26: $240.99 millionBudget total FY25: $208.82 million

Property tax rate FY26: 1.25 millsProperty tax rate FY25: 125 mills

Everglades City

Everglades City again has the highest property tax rate in the state but FY26 is lower than FY25, as is the city’s budget.

Population: 396

Budget total FY26: $31.8 millionBudget total FY25: $32.1 million

Property tax rate FY26: 6.6558 millsProperty tax rate FY25: 6.9333 mills