Bernards Homeowners Pay 77th Highest Property Taxes In NJ

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Bernards Township has the 77th highest average property taxes in New Jersey, according to a recent report from the state Department of Community Affairs.

Every year, the department releases property tax statistics for each town and city in New Jersey, including Bernards. There were 565 municipalities on this year's list. Read More: See How Every NJ Towns Ranks For Property Taxes On New List

The average residential property tax in Bernards Township in 2021 was $13,115 for a home valued at $621,788. That’s a $290 increase from 2020 – a difference of 2.2 percent.

Property taxes in New Jersey are made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Here's how that broke down in Bernards last year:

• School – 66.5%
• Municipal – 16.5%
• County – 17%

As a state, New Jersey routinely ranks among the highest in the nation when it comes to property taxes. Last year, four of the seven counties with the highest median payments in the U.S. were located in New Jersey.

Taxes and home values have gone up steadily throughout the state over the past decade, regardless of what political party is in power. When former 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, not including credits or deductions. By the time Gov. Phil Murphy began his first term in 2018, the average property tax payment had risen by 13 percent.

The numbers have continued to rise during Murphy’s tenure. According to the latest figures, the average property tax in New Jersey was $9,284 for a home valued at $335,623 in 2021, not including credits and deductions. Those numbers were up 1.9 percent from 2020, when they stood at $9,112 for a home valued at $330,578.

— Additional reporting by Eric Kiefer

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