Where Property Taxes Are the Highest

Home owners who live in New York and New Jersey should expect to pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, according to a new survey released by Tax Foundation, a research group based in Washington, D.C. Tax Foundation recently released findings of its analysis of the median home property taxes imposed between 2007 and 2009 in counties with populations of 20,000 or more.

Coming in at No. 1 for highest property taxes? Nassau County, N.Y., where the median amount paid on a Nassau house was $8,478.

Nassau County officials and its residents aren't happy about claiming the No. 1 spot. Anita MacDougall, an Oyster Bay taxpayer activist, blames the county's high tax rates as a major factor for sluggish home sales.

"There are people who cannot afford to stay in their houses, and they can't sell because nobody wants to take on that tax burden," MacDougall says.

Top 10 Counties With Highest Property Taxes

The following is a list of the highest median property taxes (along with its median home values) in the top 10 counties nationwide, according to the Tax Foundation's rankings.

1. Nassau County, N.Y.: $8,478; $494,000
2. Westchester County, N.Y.: $8,474; $562,700
3. Hunterdon County, N.J.: $8,413; $453,100
4. Bergen County, N.J.: $8,269; $486,200
5. Rockland County, N.Y.: $8,084; $482,300
6. Essex County, N.J.: $7,801; $400,900
7. Somerset County, N.J.: $7,684; $440,000
8. Morris County, N.J.: $7,507; $479,500
9. Passaic County, N.J.: $7,345; $384,500
10. Union County, N.J.: $7,308; $399,300

Source: "Group Ranks Nassau No. 1 in Property Taxes," Newsday (April 26, 2011)