These 20 NJ towns are victims of the worst property tax increases

💲 Some tax bills increased over $1,000 last year

💲💲 State law allows bigger property tax increases this year

💲💲💲 One town had a 153% tax increase

In the state infamous for its high property taxes, some New Jersey towns suffer more than others.

New Jersey collected $34.5 billion in property taxes last year. That's an increase of $1.2 billion from 2023.

According to new state Department of Community Affairs data, the average statewide property tax bill increased by 2.98% — or $292.

➡️ Connect as neighbors: Follow NJ 101.5 on NextDoor

But a few towns saw average tax increases nearly 10 times the state average. Thousands of homeowners throughout the state faced tax bills over $1,000 greater than the year before.

Scroll down 👇 to see if your town made the list of the biggest property tax increases in New Jersey. 

Lawmakers lift cap on tax increases

Until last year, a property tax cap limited increases by 2% with some exceptions for health care and pension costs. The law was signed by former Gov. Chris Christie in 2010.

Cities and towns needed voter approval to increase property taxes by more than 2%.

ALSO SEE: Record-high NJ property taxes soar past $10K

But with recent changes in the school funding formula resulting in some districts losing millions of dollars in state aid, many districts had no option but to cut teachers and extracurriculars. In Jackson, the board had to sell school buildings.

In 2024, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law allowing districts that lost state funding to increase property taxes to compensate. The new cap is 9.9% or whatever would make up the difference, whichever is lower.

The Office of Legislative Services estimated that 226 school districts would take advantage of the new law — and raise property taxes by $261.8 million for the current school year.

Below are the 20 towns that increased property taxes the most last year. Each of them saw increases greater than 10%.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom