New data released by the Census Bureau show that Northeast homeowners and those in the Midwest tend to pay the most in property taxes, with Wisconsin ranking ninth among the top 10 states, a nonprofit tax research group based in Washington, D.C., said Tuesday.

Wisconsin's median real estate tax paid for 2008 was $2,963, compared to No. 1 New Jersey's tax of $6,320 and to the national median of $1,897, according to the analysis by the Tax Foundation, which advocates for what it calls "sound tax policy" based partly on its preference for low, broad-based taxes.

Wisconsin also made the top 10 list for highest median real estate tax as a percentage of median home value. The foundation ranked Wisconsin fourth on that list, at 1.71 percent, compared to No. 1 Texas' rate of 1.76 percent and No. 2 New Jersey's rate of 1.74 percent. The national median was 0.96 percent.

Data came from the Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey, the foundation said. Foundation Senior Economist Gerald Prante said the rankings changed little from last year's list.

The full top 10 list for median property tax, from highest to lowest: New Jersey ($6,320), Connecticut ($4,603), New Hampshire ($4,501), New York ($3,622), Rhode Island ($3,534), Massachusetts ($3,406), Illinois ($3,384), Vermont ($3,281), Wisconsin ($2,963) and California ($2,829).

See www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/25197.html for the full report.

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