The average residential property tax bill in New Jersey was $8,690 in 2017. But when it comes to these taxes, not all towns are created equal.
New Jersey’s average property tax bills ranged from a low, low $1,277 to a high, high of $31,415 in 2017.
With fresh data from the state’s Department of Community Affairs, here we’ll take a look at the 30 municipalities with the highest average property taxes last year.
There are a couple of new faces on the list, and two Bergen County boroughs — Rockleigh and Woodcliff Lake — dropped out of the top 30.
So New Jersey, here are your 30 towns where homeowners pay the highest residential real estate tax bills, on average.
Livingston, once home to former Govs. Tom Kean and Chris Christie, cracked into the Top 30 this year and kicks off our list with an average property tax bill of $15,541.
That’s a $411 hike over 2016, when the average bill was $15,130.
The average property tax bill in Morris County is $10,262. And Chester is the first of three Morris County municipalities to make our list. Homeowners paid, on average, $15,575 last year, $131 more than in 2016.
North Caldwell makes its debut on our Top 30 list, with an average property tax bill of $15,662. That’s $408 higher than 2016.
Living in this small Bergen County borough costs, on average, $15,801 in real estate taxes.
The school, county and municipal tax levy is $66.3 million, 67 percent of which goes to schools, 22 percent goes to the borough and almost 10 percent goes to the county.
It is the first of 12 Bergen County locales to land in the Top 30
In Ho-Ho-Kus, Bergen County, the average tax bill was $15,952.
The average homeowner in this Bergen County borough paid $16,208 in 2017.
This oceanfront Monmouth County borough rose from No. 30 in 2016 to No. 24 in 2017 with a $928 increase in its average bill.
That bill climbed to $16,304 in 2017.
Another Bergen County entry, Old Tappan’s average bill was $16,493, a $421 jump over 2016.
Westfield is the first of two Union County municipalities on our list. The average 2017 tax bill there was $16,725, $44 higher than the 2016 bill.
Loch Arbour’s average property tax bill dropped by a whopping $5,449 from 2016 to 2017. That huge cut — larger than the tax bills in 90 New Jersey municipalities — helped this Monmouth County community slide all the way from No. 3 to No. 21.
The 2017 average tax bill was $16,874, compared with $22,323 in 2016.
Saddle River in Bergen County comes in at No. 20 with an average property tax bill of $17,160.
In Franklin Lakes, Bergen County, the average real estate tax bill was $17,239, just $41 higher than last year’s total.
Mantoloking is the only Ocean County community to make our list — by a long shot. It’s average tax bill was $17,423. The Ocean County municipality with the next highest bill was Bay Head Borough at $12,565.
This Bergen County village logged a 2017 average property tax bill of $17,661.
With a $77 decrease in its average property tax bill, Haworth actually fell two spots from 2016 to 2017.
The average bill was $17,692 last year.
South Orange Village, Essex County, saw a $299 increase in its taxes, from $17,576 in 2016 to $17,875 in 2017.
The average property tax bill in the city of Summit in Union County was $17,930.
A $657 increase in the average property tax bill from 2016 to 2017 helped propel Upper Saddle River from No. 17 to No. 13.
The average property tax in this Bergen County borough was $18,119 last year.
Schools collected 70 percent of the total taxes paid by residents here, while the borough received 16.5 percent and the county, 13.5 percent.
This Morris County township and home to former Gov. Chris Christie clocks in at $18,752.
Princeton is the only Mercer County municipality on this list. On average, its residents pay a whopping $18,894 in property taxes.
Montclair broke into the top 10 in 2017. Homeowners here paid, on average, $19,065.
This Bergen County borough’s average tax bill in 2017 was $19,137. School taxes accounted for 65 percent of the total municipal, county and school tax levy of $32.8 million.
Essex Fells bumped up two spots on our list from No. 10 in 2016. The average property tax bill there rang up at $19,496.
In Rumson, Monmouth County, the average property tax bill hit $19,551 last year, $405 higher than in 2016. It is the last Monmouth County municipality on the list.
Glen Ridge moved up two spots, from No. 8 in 2016 to No. 6 in 2017. The average property tax bill in this Essex County borough was $19,659 in 2017, $614 higher than in 2016.
The average homeowner in this Morris County borough paid $20,052 last year. That’s $277 more than in 2016.
This Bergen County borough moved up a spot from fifth- to fourth-highest average property taxes in 2017, when the average bill was $20,434.
Alpine, Bergen County, is home of White House advisor Kellyanne Conway — and the third-highest average property tax bills in New Jersey, at $21,933. At $2.7 million, it has the highest average property value on our list. And the combined municipal, school and county levy is just $15.9 million.
The average property tax bill in Millburn Township in Essex County was $23,733.
This tiny borough in Camden County leads the state in highest average property tax bills each year and comes with an asterisk.
Its population is in the single digits, and the total tax levy was just $313,537 in 2017. The borough was formed in 1921 so members of the Tavistock Country Club could play golf on Sundays.
The average tax bill here in 2017 was $31,415. That’s $287 higher than the $31,128 average bill in 2016.
The average residential property value, meanwhile, clocks in at sixth-highest in the state at $1.72 million. It’s the only Camden County locale to appear on this list.
Cori can be reached via email at [email protected] or by phone at 732 213 0325. Cori has helped many people buy and sell homes in the Monmouth County area for years.
Thinking of selling your home? I have a real passion for buying and selling Monmouth County homes, as well as marketing, social media and anything that goes along with it. Real Estate is my passion! I’d love to have the chance to use my expertise to help sell your home!
I help people buy and sell real estate in ALL of Monmouth County but I do have a strong following in the following Monmouth County towns: Marlboro, Morganville, Manalapan, Matawan, Aberdeen, Hazlet, Holmdel, Keyport and Colts Neck, and of course, “Down the Shore”.
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