Residents in New Jersey -- and several other Northeastern states -- pay high property taxes. (Photo: iStockphoto)
New Jersey gets a bad rap for many things. There are those "What Exit?" jokes (referring to the fact that many New Jerseyans can note where they live by referring to the NJ Turnpike exit they take to get to their town) and that smell along the northern reaches of the Turnpike. I often get upset about the jokes because there is plenty of stuff about our state that is nice -- like our beaches, our farmland (there are at least four farms I can visit within about five miles of my house) and our state forests.
But there is one thing about our state that just plain STINKS -- our high property taxes. I don't know why our property taxes are so high and whether there's a good reason for them being high (like, say, perhaps we provide a good education for our kids), or if it is because of something not so good, like corruption or mismanagement of funds. But this year, New Jersey wins the dubious distinction of having the highest median real estate taxes paid by residents in 2008 -- $6,320, according to a recent report by The Tax Foundation. Not far behind N.J.'s stinky distinction are Connecticut ($4,603), New Hampshire ($4,501), New York ($3,622), Rhode Island ($3,534), Massachusetts ($3,406), Illinois ($3,384), Vermont ($3,281), Wisconsin ($2,963) and California ($2,829).
Winning the honor of having the lowest median real estate taxes paid in 2008 are Louisiana ($188) and Alabama ($383).
The foundation used data from the Census Bureau to create its rankings.
—Lauren Baier Kim