While it might be quite exciting to cruise through some things without knowing what to expect next, relocating is certainly not one of them. It is important to have your facts right before making such a huge decision to move because what if what you were expecting doesn’t turn out to be? What if you dread the experience and cannot take back the decision because the time, money, and effort involved are not at your disposal? Knowing what New Jersey has to offer, why you should move there, and the property tax rates is a good way to start if you are planning to move to New Jersey.
New Jersey homeowners are among those who pay the highest property taxes of any state in the country. The property rates in some New Jersey areas are more than twice the national average; according to Smart Assets, the national average is at 1.07%, while in New Jersey, the average effective property tax rate is 2.42%. Property taxes are collected on a county level, and each county differs. No single property tax rates are uniform to all properties in New Jersey because each county has its own method of collecting and assessing taxes.
Assuming a house in New Jersey has a median value of $348,300, then the annual median property tax is $6,579. The annual median income for New Jersey residents is $88,343, and the annual property tax in New Jersey is 1.89% of the assessed fair market value of the property. Counties in New Jersey have varying property tax rates; the county with the highest property tax is Hunterdon, with an average of $8,523, which is 1.91% of the median home value, while Cumberland has the lowest at $3,744, 2.13% of the median home value.
Here is the list of the median property taxes in New Jersey ranked from the highest county to the lowest with each county having its own tax assessor.
- Hunterdon-$8,523
- Bergen-$8,489
- Essex-$8,117
- Somerset-$7,801
- Morris-$7,707
- Passaic-$7,544
- Union-$7,443
- Monmouth-$6,917
- Hudson-$6,426
- Middlesex-$6,258
- Mercer-$6,245
- Sussex-$6,111
- Warren-$5,907
- Camden-$5,587
- Burlington-$5,567
- Gloucester-$5,376
- Atlantic-$4,536
- Salem-$4,352
- Ocean-$4,325
- Cape May-$3,763
- Cumberland-$3,744
With this information, you are in a position to make a well-informed decision that will help you not spend a fortune paying for a home that you would have otherwise found an affordable alternative had you known all the facts.