Ramsey County: tax capacity at an observed high; Saint Paul homeowners face mixed changes by neighborhood

Ramsey County Assessor Pat Chapman and County Auditor Tracy West briefed the St. Paul City Council Budget Committee on 2025 estimated market values and tax-capacity trends that will determine property taxes payable in 2026. Chapman said countywide tax capacity is “at an all-time high of about $8.80 million,” and that residential value accounts for the majority of estimated market value in both the county and the city.

Chapman and West described classification-driven shifts: commercial property comprises a smaller share of estimated market value but a larger share of tax capacity because of higher classification rates (commercial can account for about 9% of estimated market value but roughly 17% of tax capacity in the county). In Saint Paul, exempt property is also large (about 18% of estimated market value), which does not produce tax capacity.

West explained the regional fiscal-disparity program, which pools 40% of growth in commercial and industrial property value and redistributes it…