There are multiple ways to measure the property tax burden of a town: looking at the overall rate or the average tax bill being the most common. A recent analysis by a newspaper crunched the numbers a bit differently, and compared the average tax bill in the state’s townships with its average income, as reported in the census, to see what percentage of each household’s income is eaten up by property taxes.
The analysis by NJ Advance Media, the parent company of NJ.com, found that Hamilton Township has Mercer County’s lowest property tax burden, with an average household tax bill of $5,789 compared to an average income of $70,996. Property taxes consumed about 8.2 percent of household income.
In second place was Ewing township with a $6,592 average property tax bill equalling an 8.5 percent burden on a $77,464 median income. West Windsor has more than double Hamilton’s property taxes, at an average of $13,790, but the household income ($161,750) is also more than double, keeping the burden at around 8.5 percent.
