NY, NJ have highest property taxes in country

Westchester County has the highest property tax of all United States counties, with a hefty median annual bill of $8,404 per household, according to the Tax Foundation, a non-profit educational organization. The New Jersey county of Hunterdon came in second with a median bill of $8,347. In seven New Jersey counties and three New York counties, the median property tax in 2006-2008 was more than 7 percent of the median household income, compared with the national figure of 2.85 percent, according to a study based on U.S. Census Bureau data. All of the 10 top paying counties listed were located in the two states. Statewide, New Jersey recorded a median property tax bill of $6,320 in 2008, compared to $188 per month in Louisiana, which has the lowest median bill in the country, according to the Census Bureau data. “These states also have high per capita income, and the highest property tax bills, in terms of dollar amounts, are usually found in the areas with the highest incomes,” Gerald Prante, an economist with the Tax Foundation, said.