New Jersey’s average property tax bill increased once again last year, rising to $10,570 and setting another record high, according to the latest state data.
For individual property owners, the average increase in their property tax bills from the prior year was $475, the state data show.
That nearly 5% year-over-year hike easily outpaced the 2.7% rate of annual inflation measured by the federal government at the end of last year.
In New Jersey, local property taxes pay for key services like K-12 public schools and local police and fire departments, as well as road maintenance and snow removal.
But affordability – for both property taxes and housing costs in general – has become an increasing problem for many New Jersey homeowners and renters as inflation has risen dramatically in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
State government has been compiling and publishing annual property tax data for decades in New Jersey.
While these tax tables don’t offer explanations for annual increases, state and local officials have been sounding alarms in recent years about a major uptick in the cost of funding employee health benefits, an expense that is typically passed along to homeowners in their property tax bills.
Last year, to help offset planned program and staff reductions in many K-12 public schools, then-Gov. Phil Murphy and lawmakers allowed dozens of school boards across the state to hike taxes above a general 2% annual cap on levy increases that is written into state law.
In all, $36.1 billion was raised from New Jersey property owners last year to support the spending by local school districts and municipal and county governments, according to the comprehensive data posted online by the state Department of Community Affairs.
In 2024, the total property tax levy statewide was $34.5 billion, according to the prior year’s data.
More than half of the revenue raised through local property taxes last year went to school districts, totaling $18.8 billion, going up by more than $850 million year over year, according to the state data.
Another $10.8 billion, went to support municipal government budgets and other local services last year, up from $10.3 billion in 2024. Nearly $6.5 billion went to support county government spending last year, up from $6.2 billion in 2024.
In 2024, the average property tax bill in New Jersey soared above the $10,00 threshold for the first time. But property taxes were already running, on average, well above $10,000 in many counties in northern and central New Jersey, according to the state data.
The state allows an up to $15,000 income tax deduction for property taxes paid by homeowners, while a federal deduction cap for state and local taxes, including property taxes, was recently lifted, from $10,000 to $40,000.
Last year, property owners in Essex County continued to pay, on average, the highest property taxes in New Jersey, with bills totaling $14,460, according to the state data.
Also landing in the top five last year were Bergen, $13,992; Morris, $12,259; Somerset, $12,082; and Union, $12,019.
At the other end of the scale was Cumberland County, where the average property-tax bill totaled $5,114 in 2025, according to the state data. The next lowest average bills were levied last year in Cape May County, $6,687; Salem County, $6,842; Atlantic County, $7,301; and Gloucester County, $7,595.
Murphy and majority Democrats in the Legislature passed an annual state budget last year that set aside more than $4 billion for direct property tax relief programs like Anchor and Senior Freeze. They also launched a new program for senior homeowners called Stay NJ.
However, individual relief payments provided to roughly 2 million homeowners and renters through the popular Anchor program were held flat by Murphy and lawmakers last year, despite the latest year-over-year increase in property taxes.
Prior to Murphy’s tenure, which began in early 2018, former Republican Gov. Chris Christie spearheaded efforts to address the perennial issue of high property taxes by passing a law that capped annual property levy increases at 2%, unless voters authorized going higher.
However, that cap provided for several exceptions which allow year-over-year increases of more than 2% to occur. Exceptions include for debt payments, funding responses to large-scale emergencies and covering costs related to pension and health benefits for public employees.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who took office last month, emphasized affordability and tax relief during her successful campaign last year. She is due to present a new state budget to lawmakers early next month.
This story is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
