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There can be wide variations in how much property owners are taxed in various cities, King County Assessor Scott Noble says. For example, there's a 20 percent spread in property owners' tax rates within Newcastle, a 35 percent spread within Kent and a 31 percent spread in Bellevue. From this it would appear that inequities exist.

But Noble says that's not true. Nor is it true that the owners of single-family homes pay property taxes at a different rate than those who own condos or apartment buildings.

"The state property-tax levy rate will be the same for all property owners," he said. "It's the uniformity requirement in the state constitution. You treat everyone the same for valuation."

The differences are a result of the public will and taxing districts. Voter approval of various measures — school levies and hospitals bonds, for example — account for about 40 percent of a property owner's tax bill.

Then each county can have more than 100 taxing districts related to its community services — water districts, school districts, fire districts, etc. — and each will want its slice of the property-tax pie.

That's why what a property owner pays "depends on where they live — there are different rates for different parts of the county," Noble said.

And because taxing districts can overlap, King County alone has 268 total property-tax levy rates.
Source: Home Forum column

So the property tax (pdf) rate varies depending on where you live. And the assessed value varies depending on many factors...of which location is a biggie. According to the state's website, "[t]here are approximately 3,300 unique Tax Code Areas in the state of Washington."