NJ’s tax burden: Is your county the worst in NJ?

Move from one county to the next in New Jersey and your tax obligation changes drastically.

An analysis from financial technology company SmartAsset went county-by-county in the Garden State, calculating the taxes that face the common homeowner to see where residents face the lowest and highest tax burden.

Taking into account income tax, sales tax, property tax and fuel tax, Cumberland County residents are faced with the lowest amount of taxes, followed by Cape May and Ocean counties, according to the report.

On the opposite end of the ranking was Bergen County. Residents there, compared to residents of  Cumberland County, face an additional tax burden of more than $5,000.

SmartAsset's tax burden rankings (from lowest to highest):

1. Cumberland County (Tax total: $14,357)
2. Cape May County ($14,446)
3. Ocean County ($15,115)
4. Salem County ($15,176)
5. Atlantic County (15,576)
6. Gloucester County ($16,424)
7. Burlington County ($16,505)
8. Camden County ($16,531)
9. Warren County ($16,804)
10. Sussex County ($17,155)
11. Mercer County ($17,242)
12. Middlesex County ($17,389)
13. Hudson County ($17,640)
14. Monmouth County ($17,951)
15. Somerset County ($18,772)
16. Union County ($19,053)
17. Morris County ($19,134)
18. Hunterdon County ($19,140)
19. Passaic County ($19,160)
20. Essex County ($19,605)
21. Bergen County ($19,801)

To help determine an income tax for each county, the study assumed residents earned the  national median household income. It also assumed a given household spends 35 percent of its take-home pay on taxable goods when calculating sales tax costs. See here for more on the study's methodology.

Property taxes were the big difference-maker in the study. Monmouth County, for example, came in with a median property tax of $7,708, a big jump from neighboring Ocean County's $4,893.

"The thing about property taxes is that they're due every year," said AJ Smith, SmartAsset's vice president of content. "It’s good to be aware of what you’re paying and how it compares to other areas around you, and also to make sure that you are budgeting for it."