Who Pays the Highest Property Taxes in the Nation?

Think San Diego has it bad when it comes to paying property taxes? Think again. In New York and New Jersey, residents pay more in taxes than anywhere else in the nation. Median property taxes in Hunterdon County, New Jersey amounted to a whopping $7,999. Holy cow! Compare that to San Diego, where the median property tax bill (according to 2005 reports) was $2,820.

In fact, New York and New Jersey residents can expect to pay up to $6,500 more in yearly property taxes than the national average. The reason: The region's homes are among the priciest in the country, and tax rates there are high as well.

Elsewhere, it's one or the other, not both. California properties are among the country's most expensive, but property-tax rates there are a third what they are in the Northeast. Property-tax rates in the Midwest and South are comparable to the Northeast, but the homes there are often half as valuable, making the amount paid in taxes significantly less.

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