Greater Sudbury property taxes are too high, and an assessed value of $230,000 does not represent the average single-family detached home in Greater Sudbury.
This, according to online comments and emails in response to Sudbury.com’s Tuesday night story on the city’s recently tabled draft budget setting a 5.7-per-cent tax levy hike for 2026.
While “too high” is up for interpretation, City of Greater Sudbury residential property taxes are close to the median levied among Ontario municipalities with populations of 100,000 or greater.
As for property assessments, a single-family detached home assessed at $230,000 is in the same ballpark as Greater Sudbury’s current median of $240,000.
This $230,000 figure came up during Tuesday night’s finance and administration committee meeting of city council, at which city Finance director Margaret Karpenko delivered a presentation highlighting some implications behind staff’s base 2026-27 budget.
Her presentation included three example properties highlighting the tax implications of a 5.7-per-cent property tax increase in 2026 and a 5.9-per-cent property tax hike in 2027 proposed in the base budget which city council members will deliberate next month.
Three example properties included homes assessed at $230,000, $350,000 and $450,000.
Sudbury.com chose to use the $230,000 property to highlight a property tax impact of $219 in 2026 and an additional $240 in 2027.
This example property is closest to the city’s median of single-family detached home assessment of $240,000; a figure which city communications staff reaffirmed on Wednesday.
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s latest assessment year was 2016. While the average home price in Sudbury currently hovers around the $500,000 mark, retail value and assessed value are two very different things.
The assessed value of any property in Greater Sudbury can be found by plugging an address into the city’s property tax calculator, which is available by clicking here.
As for City of Greater Sudbury taxes being high, Sudbury.com published an in-depth report comparing the city to other municipalities in 2022.
The city uses a detached bungalow example to help compare local taxation's impact on the average homeowner with those in other municipalities.
Karpenko used this comparator in her presentation to city council on Tuesday, which places Greater Sudbury between Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay when it comes to 2024 taxes.
The latest-available BMA Management Consulting Inc. Municipal Study is from 2023, and places Greater Sudbury in the “mid” section, with the detached bungalow example property being levied taxes totalling $3,682.
The provincial median was $3,801, and among municipalities with populations greater than 100,000, the median was $4,415.
Other residential comparisons vary, with Greater Sudbury ranking on the “high” end among all Ontario municipalities and mid-range among municipalities with a population of 100,000 or greater.
- A two-storey home example in Greater Sudbury was taxed on the high end ($5,827 against a provincial median of $5,149), but close to the median of $5,817 among municipalities with a population of 100,000 or greater.
- A multi-residential walk-up apartment was taxed at $2,020 in Greater Sudbury, which is on the high-end provincially (a median of $1,506), but just below the $2,109 median among municipalities with populations greater than 100,000.
When it comes to most commercial comparators, Greater Sudbury is on the high end provincially but near the median among municipalities of 100,000 people or more.
A standard industrial comparator in Greater Sudbury came in at the highest in the province ($3.75 per square foot against a median of $1.62), while a large industrial comparator was mid-range in Greater Sudbury ($1.21 per square foot against a median of $1.14).
There’s much more to dig through in the BMA Management Consulting Inc. report, whose full text is available by clicking here.
As clarified during Tuesday night’s meeting, the 5.7-per-cent tax levy increase in 2026 and the 5.9 per cent projected for 2027 are only tentative.
City council members will debate the budget in early December, beginning with a daylong meeting on Dec. 2 which will take place at the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre in Azilda and begin at 9:30 a.m.
Among their deliberations will be whether to approve a series of business cases. These business cases were not factored into the budget tabled on Tuesday, and would affect the bottom line. Each $3.7-million they add or take away represents one per cent on the tax levy.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.