Fletcher W. Hewes & Henry Gannett, Taxation by Counties (1883)

This choropleth map is included in Scribner's Statistical Atlas of the United States (1883), compiled under the direction of Fletcher W. Hewes and Henry Gannett using 1880 U.S. Census data. It shows the taxation ratio to assessed valuation by counties throughout the United States. The darker the shading, the higher the taxation in that county. The states with the highest ratio of taxation to assessed valuation were Illinois, Kansas, and Nebraska, where tax rates exceeded 3 percent. In the Southern States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas rates of taxation exceeded 2 percent of the assessed valuation. In most cases, the ratio of assessed valuation to true valuation of property was very low. County taxes in New England States were “very light” because most taxes were levied by town and city organizations. In states such as New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the county tax is higher because local governments reflected a mixed, or compromise system of government. Counties in the Midwest and West had high taxation most likely due to these areas being newly settled, relying on higher taxes to build infrastructure.