Property tax is highly subjective.
When I was at UM, Coral Gables used to brag about having the lowest millage rate (property tax rate) in Dade County. Uh, yeah, because the value of the real estate was so high. So Coral Gables property tax bills were higher (on a total basis) than elsewhere in Dade, but at a lower tax rate (millage rate). It's a trade-off.
CA and NY have suffered from skyrocketing property values, which makes the total bill higher each year, even if the millage rate remains constant. I would also point out that the populations of CA and NY are higher than almost any other state (as well as higher population densities), which necessitates more roads, schools, fire, police, and other types of services.
It should be noted that localities (property tax, some local-option sales tax) are different from states (income tax, sales tax). States set a budget and get a TON of money from the federal government (OVER HALF of Florida's state budget revenue comes from the federal government), and states can deficit-spend. Cities and counties have to balance their budgets and therefore the millage rate on property taxes gets adjusted each year to cover the number.
Actually, the six highest PROPERTY TAX RATE states are:
1. New Jersey (widely-known and heavily-complained-about at 2.49%, also the highest annual tax on a median-priced house)
2. Illinois (2.27%, and #6 highest annual tax on a median-priced house)
3. New Hampshire (2.18% and #3 highest annual tax on a median-priced house)
4. Connecticut (2.14% and #2 highest annual tax on a median-priced house)
5. Vermont (1.90% and #7 highest annual tax on a median-priced house)
6. Wisconsin (1.85% and #11 highest annual tax on a median-priced house)
Texas is 7th (1.80% and #14 on annual tax). New York is 9th (1.72% and #4 on annual tax). Pennsylvania is 11th (1.58% and #16 on annual tax). Ohio is 13th (1.57% and #22 on annual tax). Florida is 28th (0.89% and #27 on annual tax).
California is 37th (0.76% but jumps to #9 highest annual tax on a median-priced house). It's just that...property has a very high valuation in CA.