Property Tax in Passaic County, New Jersey
The median real estate tax bill in Passaic County, New Jersey is $10,001 per year, and the median home is worth $439,400. Both figures are the US Census Bureau's survey medians for owner-occupied households (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What the Passaic County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Passaic County pay more than $10,001, and half pay less. Your own bill is set by your home's assessed value, the exemptions you qualify for, and the local taxing districts your property sits in — so individual bills vary widely around the median.
Dividing the median tax by the median home value gives a derived effective rate of 2.28% for Passaic County. It is an estimate built from two survey medians, not the county's official rate, but it is a fair way to compare the local tax burden with other counties where home values are very different.
The key figures for Passaic County
| Measure | Passaic County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $10,001 |
| Median home value | $439,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 2.28% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $833 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $2,276 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $9,104 |
For context, the New Jersey medians are $9,541 of tax on $427,600 of value, and the US medians are $2,969 on $303,400. *Derived figures are estimates from Census medians, not official rates.
Passaic County at a glance
- Median tax rank in New Jersey: #1 of 21 counties
- Median home value rank in New Jersey: #9 of 21
- Population rank in New Jersey: #9 of 21 (518,289 residents)
- Population density rank: #6 of 21 (2,785 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in New Jersey: #18 of 21 (186 sq mi, 2.5% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $833; per $1,000 of home value: $2.28
How Passaic County compares
Of the 21 New Jersey counties with published data, 0 have a higher median property tax bill than Passaic County's $10,001, putting the county at #1 in the state. Its bill is about 5% higher than the state median of $9,541 and about 237% higher than the national median of $2,969.
Rates and values pull in opposite directions: an expensive housing market can produce big bills at ordinary rates. Here the derived rate is 2.28%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #9 within New Jersey.
Some extra context for Passaic County: the median bill works out to about $833 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $2,276 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 518,289 people — the #9 most populous county in New Jersey, spread over 186 square miles, a density of about 2,785 people per square mile. Its median home value, $439,400, ranks #9 among the state's 21 counties with data.
Nationally, Passaic County's median bill of $10,001 ranks #7 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 1% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 5.6% of New Jersey's population, its median home value is about 3% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 22.76% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Passaic County to the most expensive county, Bergen County ($10,001), is $0 a year.
Counties nearest Passaic County in the New Jersey ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monmouth County, NJ | $10,001 | $566,500 | 1.76% |
| Morris County, NJ | $10,001 | $557,000 | 1.80% |
| Somerset County, NJ | $10,001 | $523,900 | 1.91% |
| Union County, NJ | $10,001 | $488,800 | 2.05% |
How the tax is worked out
Think of the final bill as three ingredients: the assessed value of the property, the exemptions subtracted from it, and the combined rate of every district the property sits in. Passaic County's medians imply a derived rate of 2.28%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $9,104 a year, or around $759 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Checking your assessment in Passaic County
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Passaic County assessor: wrong square footage, an extra room, or a missing homestead exemption are common and fixable. Next, line your assessed value up against recent sales of genuinely similar homes nearby. Many disputes end at an informal conversation with the assessor's office; if yours does not, file the formal appeal with the review board named on your notice before its deadline, evidence attached, and keep paying the bill in the meantime so penalties do not build up.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Passaic County, New Jersey?
The median real estate tax paid in Passaic County, New Jersey is $10,001 per year, on a median home value of $439,400 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Passaic County, New Jersey?
The derived effective rate is 2.28% — the median bill ($10,001) expressed as a share of the median home value ($439,400). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Passaic County compare with the rest of New Jersey?
By median taxes paid, Passaic County stands at #1 among the 21 New Jersey counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $10,001 median bill is about 5% higher than the state median ($9,541), and 0 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Passaic County, New Jersey?
The assessor estimates your property's market value; exemptions (such as a homestead exemption) reduce the taxable amount; and the result is multiplied by the combined rates of the local taxing districts — county, municipality, school district and any special districts. In Passaic County, the median outcome of that process is a bill of $10,001 on a median home value of $439,400.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Passaic County, New Jersey?
You can. Pull your property record card from the Passaic County assessor, verify its details, and compare the assessed value against similar homes that sold recently. If the value still seems too high, submit a formal appeal to the board named on your notice before the stated deadline — usually a 30-to-90-day window.