Property taxes are rising across Minnesota. See where homeowners could feel it most.

Melanie Lee is already choosing peanut butter sandwiches over pot roast. Now she’s worried she may need a second job.

“How many different places can tax us more before it’s too much?” said Lee, of Crystal, bracing for the notice as the city and Hennepin County raise their property tax levies.

Homeowners across Minnesota are making those tough decisions to prepare for another round of hefty tax hikes, as counties and cities raise their levies, in some areas by double digits. The financial hit, which next year could cost some homeowners hundreds of dollars, comes just a year after many cities passed steeper-than-usual tax increases for 2025. Meanwhile, other household expenses, including groceries and health insurance premiums, are also eating up family’s budgets.

Cities and counties have said they, like homeowners, are dealing with rising costs. Plus, county officials are quick to point out, they are picking up more of the tab for programs that used to get stronger financial support from the state or federal government. But that hasn’t satisfied residents who have urged cities to do more to cut back spending, and made rising property taxes a deciding factor in local elections.

In St. Paul, Mayor-elect Kaohly Her ran a historic campaign that made the cost of living a main theme. In the suburbs, candidates ran on curbing spending and reassessing city budgets, including in Bloomington, which is proposing a 9.5% levy increase next year, and in Lino Lakes, with a possible 16% bump.

All seven counties in the Twin Cities metro area are proposing higher property tax levies — by roughly 10% in Ramsey, Dakota, Scott and Anoka counties. The heartburn has stretched into greater Minnesota, where some counties are passing the biggest increases in years.

“There’s a definite sense of universal unease and uncertainty about what this year’s picture looks like and how counties are going to piece together next year’s,” said Matt Hilgart with the Association of Minnesota Counties. “These are higher than normal levy increases for counties.”

A jurisdiction’s property tax levy is only one factor in an individual homeowner’s tax bill. The actual increase on a property tax bill also depends on tax levies set by school districts and other entities, as well as changes to the tax base and market values that have pushed more of the burden onto homeowners.

Tax levies are still preliminary. Counties and cities will finalize them in December after homeowners share their opinions at public hearings.

In Scott County, Deputy County Administrator Dan Lenz said that when it comes to budgeting, they try to follow one rule: “Don’t spike the levy — no surprises.”

This year?

“That one we have failed at,” Lenz said at a meeting this fall, citing unexpected state and federal cuts.

Hilgart said the added workload for administering stricter eligibility requirements for SNAP will require counties to spend more time on each case and likely hire more people.

Anoka County expects to pay $1.5 million more to run the SNAP program next year. The county is planning to take on higher costs in 2027, including those related to slated Medicaid changes.

“We’re kind of driving in the dark with no headlights on,” Hilgart said, as counties decide how to take on those higher costs over the coming years.

Carver County Administrator David Hemze said at a meeting this fall that officials built in a 2% levy increase, out of its 8% total bump, for $1.5 million in added state and federal costs next year.

He said the county has had a “soft hiring freeze,” left vacant positions unfilled and is considering other ways of trimming the budget, such as offering some employees a four-day work week.

Hennepin County’s preliminary 8% hike is its steepest in more than 30 years. The median home, which costs nearly $401,000, would see a county property tax increase of $125.

Outside of the metro area in Blue Earth County, home to Mankato, commissioners approved a preliminary 8.5% jump. County Administrator Robert Meyer said it is the highest proposed levy increase in the last 15 years, “and even that’s not enough.”

The county plans to use about $6 million from its reserve fund to balance next year’s budget. It also reduced staffing by the equivalent of 13 full-time positions.

And in Goodhue County, the majority of this year’s proposed 6.5% levy increase is to cover a 23% spike in insurance premiums, Administrator Scott Arneson said Tuesday.

Cities across the state also are raising their levies, from a 4.5% bump in St. Cloud to 5% increases in St. Paul and Duluth, to an 8% levy spike in Minneapolis.

“We’re all under budget crunches,” said Crystal homeowner Dave Bissen, who has asked the city to try to cut back spending. “It’s going to be tough.”

City Manager Adam Bell said the city is in a correction period, trying to bring the budget to a more sustainable level after years of underfunding departments and taxing at a lower level than peer cities. He said a major cost has been raising staff salaries to make them more competitive.

“There will be lower levies in the future, but we’ve had a couple of years here that are painful for current taxpayers,” Bell said.

St. Francis also proposed a 16% levy increase, which officials attribute to growing labor costs and slow residential growth. Including other jurisdictions’ hikes, the median homeowner there could see between a $450 and $590 annual property tax increase on their bills next year, depending on which school district they live in.

In the city of Hampton, property taxes could rise by as much as about $530 for the median homeowner, when combining city, county and school district levies. The median West St. Paul homeowner’s tax bill could be roughly $430 higher.

In Brooklyn Park, city staff proposed a 12.5% levy increase, citing rising costs for equipment and employee health insurance, as well as the construction of a $45 million fire station. Acknowledging residents feeling the strain of such a hike, the City Council agreed to a maximum 8% increase.

Homeowners are receiving notices in the mail that show their estimated property taxes for next year based on the preliminary levies. Before counties and cities officially approve their levies, they will hold public hearings in December.