Who Pays Americas Highest Property Taxes?
Behind the manicured shrubs and stately single-family homes lining the streets of Garden City, N.Y., a 21,672-person town about 20 miles east of Manhattan, lies a harsh truth–high property taxes. Nassau County homeowners pay a median $8,153–or 8% of their yearly income–to live there. It’s the fourth-highest rate in the country. Those living in Little Falls, N.J., should be so lucky. Property taxes in Passaic County, which includes Little Falls, eat up 8.5% of homeowner median incomes. In fact, Passaic property taxes are the highest in the nation. Rounding out the top five: Union County, N.J. (8.1%), Essex County, N.J. (8.1%), and Westchester County, N.Y. (7.8%). In Depth: America’s 25 Highest Property Taxes Besides boasting the nation’s five highest property tax rates, all are New York City bedroom communities. This is not a coincidence. Mid-Atlantic and New England states have traditionally been most reliant on property taxes because they have strong, local governments that are abl
