Property Taxes In West Orange (See Latest 5-Year Breakdown)

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The average homeowner’s property tax in West Orange increased 3.72 percent last year, the latest state data shows.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs recently released the 2023 tax tables for each municipality in the state.

In 2023, the average West Orange homeowner paid $15,475 in property taxes on a home valued at $336,591. Here are the previous four years for comparison:

• 2022 – $14,920 in taxes on a home valued at $336,282
• 2021 – $14,701 in taxes on a home valued at $337,703
• 2020 – $14,484 in taxes on a home valued at $338,106
• 2019 – $14,086 in taxes on a home valued at $338,561

Property taxes in New Jersey are mainly made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Here’s how that played out in West Orange for 2023, according to state data:

• School – 61.4%
• Municipal – 26.7%
• County – 11.9%

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.

Want to see how much each town and city in Essex County paid last year? Check out the full list here: Essex County Homeowners Pay Highest Property Taxes In NJ

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.

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

Taxes and home values have gone up steadily throughout New Jersey over the past decade, regardless of what political party is in the governor's seat.

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