September 23, 2008
Washington, DC, September 23, 2008 - New data released today by the Census Bureau on owner-occupied housing shows New York and New Jersey residents pay the most in property taxes.
In Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact No. 147, "New Census Data on Property Taxes on Homeowners," Tax Foundation Senior Economic Gerald Prante uses newly updated Census data from the 2007 American Community Survey to rank high-population counties across the country according to various property tax measures.
Below is a table that shows median property taxes paid on homes in a particular county*:
Rank | County | State | Taxes |
1 | Westchester County | NY | $8,422 |
2 | Hunterdon County | NJ | $8,224 |
3 | Nassau County | NY | $8,153 |
4 | Bergen County | NJ | $7,797 |
5 | Somerset County | NJ | $7,597 |
6 | Rockland County | NY | $7,535 |
6 | Essex County | NJ | $7,535 |
8 | Morris County | NJ | $7,281 |
9 | Union County | NJ | $7,007 |
10 | Passaic County | NJ | $6,928 |
* Many states funnel property tax relief through their income tax system. Most of those funds are not shown in this survey.
Note: National median is $1,838.
Source: American Community Survey (Census Bureau)
This year's rankings show some shuffling from the 2006 data released last year. Then, Hunterdon County was ranked #1, followed by Nassau County and then Westchester County. In order to make the leap up to #1 this year, Westchester County's median property tax payment increased by $796.
The study also looks at median real estate taxes as a percentage of median home value. The top 10 counties in Median Real Estate Taxes as a Percentage of Median Home Value are shown in the table below:
County | State | Median Real Estate Taxes as a Percentage of Median Home Value |
Niagara County | NY | 2.9% |
Mornoe County | NY | 2.8% |
Chautauqua County | NY | 2.8% |
Wayne County | NY | 2.6% |
Oswego County | NY | 2.6% |
Onondaga County | NY | 2.5% |
Erie County | NY | 2.5% |
Fort Bend County | TX | 2.5% |
Steuben County | NY | 2.5% |
Camden County | NJ | 2.4% |
Note: National median is 0.95%.
Source: American Community Survey (Census Bureau), Tax Foundation Calculations
Fiscal Fact No. 147 can be found at: http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/23648.html.
See the full county list, ranked by property taxes paid, online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/23649.html.
See the full county list, ranked by taxes as a percentage of home value, online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/1888.html
See the list by state online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/1913.html.
The Tax Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has monitored fiscal policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937.
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To schedule an interview to discuss property taxes, please contact Matt Moon, the Tax Foundation's Manager of Media Relations, at (202) 464-5102.