Essex County Towns Ranked By Property Taxes (See Updated List)

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Want to start an argument in Essex County? Just mention one word: taxes.

Property taxes are always a hot-button issue in the county, which routinely ranks as one of the most-heavily taxed in the entire nation.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs recently released updated tax tables for each town and city. Essex County homeowners paid the highest average property taxes in the state last year – as they have done in the past.

In total, the average property owner in Essex County paid $13,900 in taxes on a home valued at $454,513 last year (not counting credits and deductions).

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. Statewide, the average bill topped $10,000 for the first time in 2024, landing at a record-high $10,095 on a home valued at $382,988.

Some experts have pointed out that a high tax bill doesn't necessarily mean a homeowner is getting ripped off, however – it depends on what you get for the money.

What towns and cities are paying the highest taxes in Essex County? It depends how you crunch the numbers.

AVERAGE TAX BILLS

Here’s what each town and city in Essex County paid last year, ranked from highest to lowest by average residential property tax (article continues below):

1. Millburn - $25,407
2. Glen Ridge - $22,985
3. South Orange - $22,057
4. Montclair - $21,631
5. Essex Fells - $20,413
6. Maplewood - $18,613
7. North Caldwell - $17,965
8. Livingston - $17,640
9. West Orange - $15,778
10. Caldwell - $13,573
11. Verona - $13,407
12. Nutley - $12,942
13. Orange - $12,419
14. West Caldwell - $12,271
15. Cedar Grove - $12,092
16. Bloomfield - $12,020
17. Roseland - $11,541
18. Fairfield - $11,526
19. Belleville - $11,273
20. East Orange - $10,298
21. Irvington - $9,360
22. Newark - $7,238

HOME VALUES

Average property taxes are only one piece of the full picture, of course. Another important component? Home values.

It’s worth noting that several towns and cities in the county have been undergoing tax revaluations in recent years – or are planning to do them soon. When West Orange performed its latest revaluation, the values of many homes nearly doubled (that total isn’t reflected below). Meanwhile, New Jersey’s largest city – Newark – is carrying out a revaluation for the first time in 14 years.

Here were the average residential property values in Essex County last year, with towns ranked from highest to lowest (article continues below):

1. Millburn - $1,282,294
2. Essex Fells - $943,438
3. South Orange - $879,423
4. Maplewood - $804,789
5. North Caldwell - $795,855
6. Livingston - $721,238
7. Glen Ridge - $672,540
8. Roseland - $639,634
9. Montclair - $635,770
10. Fairfield - $539,753
11. Nutley - $491,883
12. Cedar Grove - $477,582
13. West Caldwell - $448,558
14. Verona - $434,575
15. Caldwell - $426,385
16. Bloomfield - $354,446
17. West Orange - $336,878
18. East Orange - $327,903
19. Orange - $317,671
20. Belleville - $279,525
21. Newark - $190,334
22. Irvington - $151,041

EFFECTIVE TAX RATES

When you take a look at a town’s “effective tax rate” – the amount of property tax paid relative to a home’s value – a new story may emerge.

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

Former Belleville Board of Education member Michael Sheldon previously described the concept to Patch using a simple metaphor: the price of milk.

A paraphrased version of his explanation goes like this:

“Let’s say that a gallon of milk costs $4. For families in Belleville, where the median household income is just over $90,000 a year, that gallon of milk will take a bigger bite out of their budget than in nearby Millburn, where the median income is more than $250,000. Now, imagine that gallon of milk is actually priced lower in Millburn stores… and sometimes a lot less. Sound unfair to Belleville residents? The same thing is happening when it comes to property tax rates across Essex County.”

The average statewide effective property tax rate came to 2.63 percent in 2024.

Here’s how Essex County stacks up when compared by their calendar year tax rates per $100 valuation (highest to lowest):

1. Irvington – 6.19
2. West Orange – 4.68
3. Belleville – 4.03
4. Orange – 3.91
5. Newark – 3.80
6. Glen Ridge – 3.41
7. Montclair – 3.40
8. Bloomfield – 3.39
9. Caldwell – 3.18
10. East Orange – 3.14
11. Verona – 3.08
12. West Caldwell – 2.73
13. Nutley – 2.63
14. Cedar Grove – 2.53
15. South Orange – 2.50
16. Livingston – 2.44
17. Maplewood – 2.31
18. North Caldwell – 2.25
19. Essex Fells – 2.16
20. Fairfield – 2.13
21. Millburn – 1.98
22. Roseland – 1.80

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