September 12, 2007
New York, New Jersey Homeowners Nation's Hardest Hit by Property Taxes
For more information, contact: Nate Bailey at (202) 464-5102.
Washington, D.C., September 12, 2007- New data released today by the Census Bureau on owner-occupied housing shows what most people in the Northeast already know: New York and New Jersey residents pay the most in property taxes.
Using newly updated Census data for 2006, the Tax Foundation has compiled a table that ranks 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 | Hunterdon County | NJ | $7,999 |
2 | Nassau County | NY | $7,706 |
3 | Westchester County | NY | $7,626 |
4 | Somerset County | NJ | $7,318 |
5 | Bergen County | NJ | $7,237 |
6 | Essex County | NJ | $7,148 |
7 | Rockland County | NY | $7,041 |
8 | Morris County | NJ | $6,852 |
9 | Union County | NJ | $6,703 |
10 | Passaic County | NJ | $6,663 |
Note: National median is $1,742.
Source: American Community Survey (Census Bureau)
This year's rankings show some shuffling from the 2005 data released last year. Then, Weschester County was ranked #1, followed by Nassau County and then Hunterdon County. In order to make the leap up to #1 this year, Hunterdon County's median property tax payment increased by $1,001.
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 |
Wayne County | NY | 2.94% |
Niagara County | NY | 2.91% |
Monroe County | NY | 2.83% |
Erie County | NY | 2.54% |
Fort Bend County | TX | 2.53% |
Chautauqua County | NY | 2.52% |
Onondaga County | NY | 2.50% |
Cayuga County | NY | 2.42% |
Chemung County | NY | 2.41% |
Schenectady County | NY | 2.39% |
Note: National median is 0.94%.
Source: American Community Survey (Census Bureau), Tax Foundation Calculations
See Fiscal Fact No. 103, titled "New Census Data Shows Where Property Taxes Hit Homeowners Hardest" online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/22607.html.
See the full county list online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/1888.html
See the list by state online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/1913.html
The nonpartisan, nonprofit Tax Foundation has monitored tax policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937. Best known for its annual calculation of Tax Freedom Day®, the Tax Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization.
