Property Tax Bills In Berkeley Stay Low, Latest State Data Says

BERKELEY, NJ — It's expensive to live in New Jersey - that's no secret. But those in Berkeley, property taxes remain some of the lowest in the state, according to recently released state data.

Earlier this week, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA) published its latest tax tables, which are based on 2022 data. Statewide, the average property valued at $351,702 paid $9,490 in taxes last year – up nearly 2.22 percent from the previous year.

Patch put together a list of the average property tax bills for each town and city, including Berkeley. Read More: Highest NJ Property Taxes (See Where Your Town Ranks On New List)

According to the NJDCA, Berkeley homeowners rank 533 out of 564 when it comes to property tax bills. This is the second-lowest in all of Ocean County, only beaten by Manchester. With an average home valued at $205,620 Berkeley residents paid $4,681 in taxes – up from $4,558 the previous year.

Property taxes in New Jersey are made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Here’s how that played out in Berkeley last year:

• School – 48.1%
• Municipal – 31.4%
• County – 20.5%

Mayor Carmen Amato frequently touts the township's low property taxes and has said that the governing body pursues grants and other funding to keep the tax burden on residents low.

PAYING PROPERTY TAXES IN NEW JERSEY

Here are three things to keep in mind about property taxes in New Jersey.

HOME VALUES – It’s easy to make comparisons between towns 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 different story often emerges. Analyzing the data in a recent Patch article in Essex County last year, a community member noticed a startling pattern: the wealthiest communities almost always had the lowest effective tax rates. Read More: Many Wealthier Towns Pay Lower Property Tax Rates In This NJ County

BANG FOR THE BUCK – 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.

BLAMING POLITICS – Taxes and home values have gone up steadily throughout the state over the past decade, regardless of what political party is in the governor's seat. When former Republican Gov. Chris Christie and the state Legislature reached a historic deal for a 2 percent cap in 2011, the average property tax bill in New Jersey was at $7,759 for a home valued at $299,014. By the time Christie left office, the average property tax payment had risen by 13 percent. It has continued to go up since then; according to the latest tax table figures, the average property tax increased by 8.25 percent between 2022 and 2018, the first year Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy took office.

This article contains reporting by Patch's Eric Kiefer.