ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Which towns and cities in Essex County are the hardest-hit when it comes to property taxes? It depends how you look at it, the latest data shows.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs recently released the 2023 property tax tables for each town and city in the state. On average, New Jersey property owners paid $9,803 in property taxes on a home valued at $365,661 – about $300 more than the previous year. Read More: NJ Property Taxes Hit A New High

Property taxes are always a hot-button issue in Essex County, which routinely ranks as one of the most-heavily taxed in the nation.

In total, the average Essex County property owner paid $13,448 in taxes on a home valued at $428,538 last year – the highest in New Jersey. Out of the 15 towns with the highest average taxes, five are located in Essex County: Millburn, Glen Ridge, Montclair, South Orange and Essex Fells.

Here are the latest tallies, ranked by highest taxes (totals don’t include credits and deductions):

1. Millburn – $24,947 average tax bill on a home valued at $1,275,642
2. Glen Ridge – $22,605 average tax bill on a home valued at $670,102
3. Montclair – $21,415 average tax bill on a home valued at $633,605
4. South Orange – $21,287 average tax bill on a home valued at $585,351
5. Essex Fells – $20,335 average tax bill on a home valued at $937,969
6. Maplewood – $18,266 average tax bill on a home valued at $505,213
7. North Caldwell – $17,593 average tax bill on a home valued at $794,090
8. Livingston – $16,888 average tax bill on a home valued at $712,139
9. West Orange – $15,475 average tax bill on a home valued at $336,591
10. Verona – $13,258 average tax bill on a home valued at $433,026
11. Caldwell – $13,197 average tax bill on a home valued at $425,488
12. Nutley – $12,650 average tax bill on a home valued at $491,074
13. West Caldwell – $12,068 average tax bill on a home valued at $446,864
14. Cedar Grove – $12,022 average tax bill on a home valued at $475,225
15. Orange – $11,762 average tax bill on a home valued at $315,612
16. Bloomfield – $11,561 average tax bill on a home valued at $353,851
17. Belleville – $10,909 average tax bill on a home valued at $278,760
18. Roseland – $10,887 average tax bill on a home valued at $470,368
19. Fairfield – $10,862 average tax bill on a home valued at $529,188
20. East Orange – $10,205 average tax bill on a home valued at $322,128
21. Irvington – $9,013 average tax bill on a home valued at $148,422
22. Newark – $7,069 average tax bill on a home valued at $189,640

It’s worth noting that some experts have pointed out that a high tax bill doesn’t necessarily mean a homeowner is getting ripped off – it depends on what you get for the money.

“While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, it’s worth noting that property taxes are largely rooted in the ‘benefit principle’ of government finance – the people paying the bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services,” researchers from The Tax Foundation recently wrote.

A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINT: EFFECTIVE TAX RATES

It’s easy to make comparisons between municipalities based on their average tax bills. But if you take a look at a town’s “effective tax rate” – the amount of property tax paid relative to a home’s value – a much different story emerges.

Many of the wealthier towns in Essex County often pay a significantly lower effective tax rate, a trend that some local pundits have called attention to in the past. Read More: Tax Gap In Essex County; Many Wealthier Towns Pay Lower Rates

The tax gap continued in Essex County during 2023, according to the latest state data.

Millburn, the highest-taxed town in the county (and one of its richest, according to U.S. Census data), also had its lowest effective tax rate. Millburn has a tax base of $9.87 billion, which is second only to Newark ($12.71 billion) – despite having only about 7 percent of the city’s population.

Here are how the towns and cities in Essex County stacked up last year, as measured by their calendar year tax rates per $100 valuation (highest to lowest):

1. Irvington – 6.072
2. West Orange – 4.598
3. Belleville – 3.913
4. Newark – 3.727
5. Orange – 3.727
6. South Orange – 3.637
7. Maplewood – 3.615
8. Montclair – 3.380
9. Glen Ridge – 3.373
10. Bloomfield – 3.267
11. East Orange – 3.168
12. Caldwell – 3.102
13. Verona – 3.062
14. West Caldwell – 2.701
15. Nutley – 2.576
16. Cedar Grove – 2.530
17. Livingston – 2.371
18. Roseland – 2.315
19. North Caldwell – 2.216
20. Essex Fells – 2.168
21. Fairfield – 2.053
22. Millburn – 1.956

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