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In Oregon, the median home is already 49.8% of the state’s estate tax exemption — before counting a single dollar of savings, retirement accounts, or life insurance.
The Estate Tax Exposure Index measures how close a typical homeowner is to each state’s estate tax threshold: median owner-occupied home value ÷ 2026 state exemption. The spread runs from 49.8% (Oregon) to 2.6% (Connecticut) — a 19× difference in how much of the threshold an ordinary home consumes.
The Estate Tax Exposure Index (2026)
| Rank | Jurisdiction | Median Home Value (2024 ACS) | 2026 Estate Tax Exemption | Exposure Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | $497,500 | $1,000,000 | 49.8% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $607,400 | $2,000,000 | 30.4% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | $455,700 | $1,838,056 | 24.8% |
| 4 | Washington | $602,200 | $3,000,000 | 20.1% |
| 5 | Hawaii | $875,900 | $5,490,000 | 16.0% |
| 6 | Washington, D.C. | $733,400 | $4,988,400 | 14.7% |
| 7 | Minnesota | $344,600 | $3,000,000 | 11.5% |
| 8 | Maryland | $436,300 | $5,000,000 | 8.7% |
| 9 | Vermont | $352,800 | $5,000,000 | 7.1% |
| 10 | Illinois | $280,700 | $4,000,000 | 7.0% |
| 11 | New York | $449,800 | $7,350,000 | 6.1% |
| 12 | Maine | $341,900 | $7,000,000 | 4.9% |
| 13 | Connecticut | $396,900 | $15,000,000 | 2.6% |
| — | United States (federal) | $360,600 | $15,000,000 | 2.4% |
Highlighted rows: states where the median home alone exceeds 20% of the exemption. Federal reference row included for comparison — nationally, the median home is 2.4% of the $15,000,000 federal exemption.
Three Findings
1. In four states, estate tax exposure is a middle-class issue
Oregon (49.8%), Massachusetts (30.4%), Rhode Island (24.8%), and Washington (20.1%) are the four jurisdictions where a median home consumes a fifth to a half of the estate tax threshold on its own. A household with a paid-off home, retirement savings, and a life insurance policy — not a wealthy family by any local definition — can cross these thresholds without noticing. Oregon’s $1,000,000 exemption has not changed since 2001, while its median home value has roughly tripled.
2. The 19× spread
A median homeowner in Oregon is nineteen times closer to their state’s estate tax than a median homeowner in Connecticut, whose $15,000,000 exemption matches the federal threshold. Identical estates face radically different state tax realities depending on the state line.
3. Thresholds mostly don’t move; home values do
Only some state exemptions are indexed to inflation (Rhode Island, D.C., Maine, among others). Oregon’s and Massachusetts’s are fixed by statute. Where the threshold stands still and housing appreciates, exposure rises every year without any legislature voting on it — a quiet, automatic tax expansion.
Methodology
Exposure Ratio = median owner-occupied home value (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, table B25077) ÷ the state’s 2026 estate tax exemption (verified against each state’s revenue department; see our state estate & inheritance tax reference). The ratio deliberately counts only the home — total estates include retirement accounts, life insurance death benefits, and other assets, so actual exposure is higher than the index in every state. Data is reproducible from public sources; figures update when the Census Bureau releases new ACS estimates or a state changes its exemption.
What This Means for Planning
If your state ranks in the top half of this index, estate planning is not a someday problem — the house is doing half the work of crossing the threshold for you. For how rare federal filings actually are, see our estate tax statistics. See your state’s guide (linked in the table), the full state tax tables, and the federal exemption reference. For what planning actually costs, see living trust costs by state.
Cite or Link This Page
Journalists, researchers, and policy writers are welcome to cite the index with attribution:
Estate Tax Exposure Index (2026), Family Estate Guide, https://familyestateguide.com/estate-tax-exposure/
Deep links: the index · methodology
Licensed under CC BY 4.0 — reuse, republish, or adapt this material, including commercially, with credit to Family Estate Guide and a link to this page. The license covers our compilation and analysis; underlying source data remains subject to its original terms.
Update Log
- August 2026 — Index published. Home values: ACS 2024 1-year estimates. Exemptions: 2026 figures verified against state revenue departments, including Washington’s July 1, 2026 changes.
- August 2026 — Released under CC BY 4.0; reuse permitted with attribution.
Last updated: August 2026. Updated annually with new ACS releases and whenever a state changes its exemption. Educational information, not legal or tax advice.