2 in 5 Older Adults Struggle to Pay Property Taxes in New Jersey

Thirty-eight percent of New Jersey residents age 50 and up struggle to pay their monthly property taxes, our new survey finds. More than half pay at least $9,000 per year, including more than a third of households making less than $50,000 annually.

New Jersey has the highest effective real estate tax rate in the country, according to a recent WalletHub report. Nearly 4 in 5 respondents to our survey said that lowering property taxes should be a high priority for state policymakers, and 42 percent of homeowners and 36 percent of renters considered leaving New Jersey in the past year, many citing high property taxes. “It is clear that people are hungry for change,” Evelyn Liebman, AARP New Jersey’s director of advocacy, said in a statement.

Many respondents voiced support for raising awareness of existing property tax relief programs and making adjustments to a tax reimbursement program that benefits older residents and people with disabilities, among other measures. Property tax relief for older adults has been an AARP priority in several states. We recently applauded Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan for using unspent federal aid from last year’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to ease the tax burdens faced by low-income older adults and people with disabilities.

Read more of our report’s findings.