New Jersey · County property tax · ACS 2024
Passaic County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Passaic County pays $10,001 a year, an effective rate of 2.18%, far above the U.S. average.
- $10,001
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 2.18%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- +402%
- vs U.S. average
- #10 of 21
- rank in NJ
The verdict
Homeowners in Passaic County pay a median $10,001 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 2.18%, more affordable than 2% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $10,001
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 2.18%
- Effective rate on median home
- #3087 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +402%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($459,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for New Jersey. Population: 521,012. Owner-occupied homes: 94,970.
The median annual property tax in Passaic County is $10,001, which is 4% higher than the New Jersey state average and 402% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 2.18% on a median home value of $459,500. Property taxes represent 11.4% of the median household income in this county.
Why Passaic County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Passaic County pay a median annual property tax of $10,001, far above the national median and modestly above the New Jersey state median. On a $459,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 2.18% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Passaic County run well above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 11.4% of the $87,522 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate is a national headwind
Passaic County's 2.18% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 98% pay more.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of New Jersey counties by effective rate
Passaic County ranks #10 of 21 counties in New Jersey by effective rate (52% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Passaic County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Passaic County rose 30.5%, from $352,000 to $459,500. The effective rate fell 23.4% over the same span, a steeper move than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 0.0%, to $10,001. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $9,999 to $10,001, a change of 0%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 88,545 of 94,970 owner-occupied homes (93.2%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 11% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Passaic County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Passaic County homeowners, 88,545 of 94,970 owner-occupied homes (93.2%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 1.0% (964)
- $800 to $1,499 0.9% (833)
- $1,500 to $1,999 0.6% (563)
- $2,000 to $2,999 1.2% (1,120)
- $3,000 or more 93.2% (88,545)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
2,945 homes here (3.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how New Jersey handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Passaic County pay about the same bill, a 0% gap.
Passaic County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Passaic County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Passaic County's median bill is 4% above the New Jersey median and 402% above the U.S. median.
Note: Census ACS top-codes median property tax at $10,000 or more, so the bill is shown as $10,001 and the effective rate above is a conservative floor - Passaic County's true median tax and rate are somewhat higher.
Among the highest-taxed counties in the country
At 2.18%, Passaic County sits in the top 2% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. That is the rate, not the bill: a high rate on a modest home can still produce a smaller cheque than a low rate on an expensive one, which is why the $10,001 median bill is the number to compare against another county.
Passaic County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Passaic County | New Jersey Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Highest-decile bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Highest-decile rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 11.4% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Is Passaic County's $10,001 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Passaic County's $10,001 ACS median (SPIKE), a 10% assessment cut is worth about $1,000/yr before exemptions. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for New Jersey.
Passaic County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $10,001 +0.0% | 2.18% |
| 2023 | $10,001 +0.0% | 2.28% |
| 2022 | $10,001 +0.0% | 2.42% |
| 2021 | $10,001 +0.0% | 2.75% |
| 2020 | $9,999 | 2.84% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Passaic County: tax takes 11.4% of income
Counties near Passaic County's median bill
On effective rate, Passaic County sits nearest Boone County (IL), McLean County (IL), Cayuga County (NY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Falls Church city (VA), Dillon County (SC), Westchester County (NY).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Passaic County: only 9% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 24,140 of 265,120 returns from Passaic County reported real estate taxes, averaging $11,450 - 32% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in New Jersey
Passaic County bill FAQs
- How does Passaic County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Passaic County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 2.18% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Passaic County?
- Property taxes in Passaic County run well above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 11.4% of the $87,522 median household income.
- What is the average property tax in Passaic County, New Jersey?
- The median annual property tax in Passaic County is $10,001, an effective rate of 2.18% on a $459,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Passaic County?
- Passaic County, New Jersey scores F (25/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 3 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A (+$0). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- Are property taxes increasing in Passaic County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Passaic County held roughly steady, up 0.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $9,999 to $10,001, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
What to do with Passaic County's SPIKE bill
Passaic County's $10,001 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 11.4% of Passaic County's $87,522 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Passaic County's SPIKE median, then a disjoint out-of-state rate set, not the same-state geography lattice.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 2.18%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $10,001/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Passaic County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Passaic County (PEAK · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PEAK SPIKE
Bergen County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Passaic County at $10,001/yr; rate 1.61% vs Passaic County 2.18%.
Essex County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Passaic County at $10,001/yr; rate 1.91% vs Passaic County 2.18%.
Falls Church city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Passaic County at $10,001/yr; rate 0.95% vs Passaic County 2.18%.
Hunterdon County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Passaic County at $10,001/yr; rate 1.93% vs Passaic County 2.18%.
New Jersey county set
State ACS overview for every published New Jersey county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Passaic County stamps PEAK · SPIKE - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Passaic County (PEAK · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.