Property Tax in Union County, New Jersey
Homeowners in Union County, New Jersey pay a median of $10,001 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $488,800. Those are the Census Bureau's published medians for the county (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023) — the typical bill and the typical home value for owner-occupied households.
What the Union County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Union 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 2.05% for Union 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 Union County
| Measure | Union County |
|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid per year | $10,001 |
| Median home value | $488,800 |
| Derived effective rate* | 2.05% |
| Equivalent monthly tax | $833 |
| Tax per $100,000 of value (derived) | $2,046 |
| Illustrative tax on a $400,000 home (derived rate) | $8,184 |
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.
Union County at a glance
- Median tax rank in New Jersey: #1 of 21 counties
- Median home value rank in New Jersey: #8 of 21
- Population rank in New Jersey: #7 of 21 (572,549 residents)
- Population density rank: #3 of 21 (5,571 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in New Jersey: #20 of 21 (102 sq mi, 1.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $833; per $1,000 of home value: $2.05
How Union County compares
Set against its state, Union County's median bill of $10,001 is about 5% higher than the New Jersey median ($9,541). Against the country as a whole it is about 237% higher than the US median ($2,969). That places the county #1 of 21 New Jersey counties ranked by median taxes paid.
Remember what drives the ranking: bills follow home values as much as rates. Union County's median home, at $488,800, ranks #8 by value in New Jersey, while its derived rate of 2.05% compares with a derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Union County: the median bill works out to about $833 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $2,046 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 572,549 people — the #7 most populous county in New Jersey, spread over 102 square miles, a density of about 5,571 people per square mile. Its median home value, $488,800, ranks #8 among the state's 21 counties with data.
Nationally, Union County's median bill of $10,001 ranks #9 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 1% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 6.2% of New Jersey's population, its median home value is about 14% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 20.46% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Union County to the most expensive county, Bergen County ($10,001), is $0 a year.
Counties nearest Union County in the New Jersey ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passaic County, NJ | $10,001 | $439,400 | 2.28% |
| Somerset County, NJ | $10,001 | $523,900 | 1.91% |
| Middlesex County, NJ | $9,684 | $439,300 | 2.20% |
| Hudson County, NJ | $9,413 | $508,600 | 1.85% |
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. Union County's medians imply a derived rate of 2.05%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $8,184 a year, or around $682 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Checking your assessment in Union County
Believe your assessment is too high? The practical order of attack is: obtain your record card and audit it line by line; collect comparable recent sales in Union County; ask the assessor's office to correct anything plainly wrong; and, if the value still seems off, lodge a formal appeal ahead of the deadline printed on your assessment notice. Windows are short — often 30 to 90 days — and late appeals are usually rejected outright, however strong the case.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Union County, New Jersey?
The median real estate tax paid in Union County, New Jersey is $10,001 per year, on a median home value of $488,800 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Union County, New Jersey?
The derived effective rate is 2.05% — the median bill ($10,001) expressed as a share of the median home value ($488,800). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Union County compare with the rest of New Jersey?
By median taxes paid, Union 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 Union County, New Jersey?
Three steps produce the bill: an assessment of market value by the local assessor, a reduction for exemptions you qualify for (a homestead exemption is the common one), and multiplication by the combined rates of the county, municipality, school district and any special districts covering the property. The median result in Union County is $10,001 of tax on a $488,800 median home value.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Union County, New Jersey?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Union County assessor's office and check it for errors, then compare your assessed value with recent sales of similar homes. If it still looks too high, file a formal appeal with the local review board named on your assessment notice before the deadline printed on the notice — windows are short, often 30 to 90 days.