TRENTON — New data from Gov. Phil Murphy's administration shows the average New Jersey property tax bill rose less than 2 percent last year.

The average property tax levy went up in 2017 to $8,690 from $8,549 in 2016. That's an increase of 1.64 percent, compared with an increase of 2.34 percent in 2016 over 2015.

The data shows the same result that a New Jersey 101.5 analysis found last month.

The average tax bill was up in 498 municipalities, including 296 where it was up by more than 2 percent.

To see each county's top average increase and decrease, see our exclusive report here.

To see the 66 towns where property taxes actually went down, click here.

Find how your municipality compares in the map below.

The slower rate at which property taxes have increased over recent years is partially a result of former Gov. Chris Christie's signature property tax cap.

Murphy has begun tackling the property tax crisis by championing a dubious end-run around the new federal tax law that caps state and local tax deductions on tax returns.

A new report by a progressive think tank this week suggested that the state raise the sales tax and expand it to more products. The sales tax was lowered by a nearly unnoticeable amount as part of a legislative deal to raise the gas tax.

Senate President Steven Sweeney, meanwhile, has put Murphy on notice that raising taxes on wealthy residents "should be the absolute last resort."

NJ property taxes in 2017

Zoom out, zoom in, click on a town to see how property taxes changed last year for an average residential bill.

GREEN = Average cut
YELLOW = Average increase up to 2%
RED = Average increase over 2%
Works best on a desktop computer or on our free app.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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