New Jersey · County property tax · ACS 2024
Somerset County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Somerset County pays $10,001 a year, an effective rate of 1.81%, far above the U.S. average.
- $10,001
- Median tax / yr · Highest-decile bill
- 1.81%
- Effective rate · Highest-decile rate
- +402%
- vs U.S. average
- #15 of 21
- rank in NJ
The verdict
Homeowners in Somerset County pay a median $10,001 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.81%, more affordable than 4% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $10,001
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.81%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2998 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 ($552,100). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for New Jersey. Population: 349,846. Owner-occupied homes: 97,187.
The median annual property tax in Somerset 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 1.81% on a median home value of $552,100. Property taxes represent 7.1% of the median household income in this county.
Why Somerset County's ACS bill runs high vs the U.S.
Primary signal
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Somerset 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 $552,100 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.81% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 2
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Somerset County run well above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 7.1% of the $140,374 median household income.
Decision signal 3
The effective rate is a national headwind
Somerset County's 1.81% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 96% pay more.
Decision signal 4
High among New Jersey counties by effective rate
Somerset County ranks #15 of 21 counties in New Jersey by effective rate (29% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Somerset 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.
A falling rate took the edge off
Somerset County's effective rate fell 16.9% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 26.4%, leaving the median bill 5.0% higher at $10,001. That rate move is larger than the one in 72% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
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 $9,522 to $10,001, a change of 5%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 92,347 of 97,187 owner-occupied homes (95.0%) 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 7.1% 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 Somerset County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Somerset County homeowners, 92,347 of 97,187 owner-occupied homes (95.0%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 0.6% (540)
- $800 to $1,499 0.7% (674)
- $1,500 to $1,999 0.6% (547)
- $2,000 to $2,999 1.6% (1,600)
- $3,000 or more 95.0% (92,347)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,479 homes here (1.5%) 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 Somerset County pay about the same bill, a 0% gap.
Somerset County's bill vs state & U.S. medians
Median annual bill bars around Somerset County's SPIKE ACS 2024 figure.
Somerset 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 - Somerset County's true median tax and rate are somewhat higher.
Among the highest-taxed counties in the country
At 1.81%, Somerset County sits in the top 4% 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.
Somerset County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Somerset 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 | 7.1% | - | - |
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 Somerset County's $10,001 median bill appeal-worthy?
At Somerset 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.
Somerset County bill trail · SPIKE
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $10,001 +0.0% | 1.81% |
| 2023 | $10,001 +0.0% | 1.91% |
| 2022 | $10,001 +2.2% | 2.04% |
| 2021 | $9,787 +2.8% | 2.20% |
| 2020 | $9,522 | 2.18% |
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.
Somerset County: tax takes 7.1% of income
Counties near Somerset County's median bill
On effective rate, Somerset County sits nearest Warren County (IL), Vermilion County (IL), Piatt County (IL).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Scurry County (TX), Henry County (TN), Lenoir County (NC).
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
Somerset County: only 16% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 28,740 of 180,100 returns from Somerset County reported real estate taxes, averaging $13,089 - 42% of those reporters sat in the $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
Somerset County bill FAQs
- How does Somerset County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Somerset County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.81% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Somerset County, New Jersey?
- The median annual property tax in Somerset County is $10,001, an effective rate of 1.81% on a $552,100 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Somerset County?
- Property taxes in Somerset County run well above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 7.1% of the $140,374 median household income.
- What is the tax affordability score for Somerset County?
- Somerset County, New Jersey scores F (29/100) 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 Somerset County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Somerset County ticked up 5.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $9,522 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 Somerset County's SPIKE bill
Somerset 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 7.1% of Somerset County's $140,374 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by median bill (then rate)
Bill-first peers for Somerset 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: 1.81%.
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 Somerset County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Somerset County (PEAK · SPIKE), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PEAK SPIKE
Bergen County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Somerset County at $10,001/yr; rate 1.61% vs Somerset County 1.81%.
Essex County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Somerset County at $10,001/yr; rate 1.91% vs Somerset County 1.81%.
Falls Church city, VA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Somerset County at $10,001/yr; rate 0.95% vs Somerset County 1.81%.
Hunterdon County, NJ
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Somerset County at $10,001/yr; rate 1.93% vs Somerset County 1.81%.
New Jersey county set
State ACS overview for every published New Jersey county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Somerset 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 Somerset County (PEAK · SPIKE) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.