Neighboring Jasper County made the Star's Top 20 list, coming in at No. 14 with a taxes-per-resident rate of $1,359.94.

The Star pointed out that while several metro area counties made the Top 20 list, they weren't ranked as high as readers might have suspected.

The newspaper's top 10 counties with the highest combined taxes per resident were as follows:

1. Benton County - Population: 8,804.Taxes per resident: $1,714.35.
2. Hamilton County - Population: 289,495. Taxes per resident: $1,677.81.
3. Boone County - Population: 58,944. Taxes per resident: $1,591.39.
4. Hendricks County - Population: 150,434. Taxes per resident: $1,519.39.
5. Hancock County - Population: 70,933. Taxes per resident: $1,487.86.
6. Howard County - Population: 82,849. Taxes per resident: $1,435.68.
7. Montgomery County - Population: 38,254. Taxes per resident: $1,427.66.
8. Lake County - Population: 493,618. Taxes per resident: $1,422.63.
9. Pulaski County - Population: 13,124. Taxes per resident: $1,404.55.
10. Posey County - Population: 25,599. Taxes per resident: $1,403.19.

The Star reports that on the other end, the county with the lowest combined taxes per resident was Ohio County at $611.29 -- more than $1,000 less than in the highest-taxed county. 

The newspaper's analysis used 2012 data for each county's total property tax levy and state distribution of all local income taxes. LaPorte County was excluded because its 2012 tax levy was not available.

Pulaski County's 2012 property tax levy was $10.8 million (51% agricultural, 22% residential, 13% business personal property, 7% industrial and 6% commercial). The local income taxes received totaled $7.6 million, while the combined taxes totaled $18.4 million.