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I hear a lot of people talk about outrageous taxes and high cost of living in NJ.
Can somebody please break it down for me and tell me what kind of taxes and how much are those taxes. Same for cost of living what is so expensive in NJ.
I would appreciate any real life examples.
Thanks
As an example I have a $1200 square foot, 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo in Union NJ. My taxes are $5,600 annually and that does not incluede any land. On top of that, it is approximately $3,840 annually for my association fees, $900 annually for electric, $900 annually for gas ect. In comparison with my cousin in KY that has a 2800 square foot 4 bedroom home on an acre of land and pays $1,800 annually for taxes $150 annually for their home association and nowhere near the same amount for their utilities.
It would be very hard for someone in NJ who is single and doing everythign on their own to own a home if they are making less then $100k.
I hear a lot of people talk about outrageous taxes and high cost of living in NJ.
Can somebody please break it down for me and tell me what kind of taxes and how much are those taxes. Same for cost of living what is so expensive in NJ.
I would appreciate any real life examples.
Thanks
Property tax is pretty much the biggest tax on the block. I think rule of thumb for NJ is 2% for ballpark estimate. Obviously it matter what town, when it was built, sq ft, etc. but I don't think it'll hurt to do 2% to set a baseline and then go into researching to see what it really is. Income tax in NJ isn't cheap either but it's still lower than NYC.
But keep in mind that you usually get good school district as trade off for property tax. It is typically cheaper than sending your kids to private school. For example, my buddy owns a house in Leonia and he paid/paying 500k and I think his property tax was 12k. However he has kids so it's cheaper than him living in one of the NYC boroughs and sending the kids to private school which would runs 30-50k per child.
Other than that...gas is hella cheap as it should be to offset living expenses. And yes property tax does raise rent prices for commercial and residential as the buck needs to be passed on to someone....
Edit: I forgot to mention that NJ car insurance ain't cheap either so it all adds up. As for public transportation costs, don't let anyone fool you that it's cheaper than living in NY boroughs. It's just as if not more expensive depending on where you go.
Property taxes are very very high.
The income tax is relatively low for an income tax state... unless you make $150K+ (married file jointly). NJ income tax is a big game hunter tax. IE $150K+
Sales tax is actually rather average. It excludes food, medicine and normal clothes. Many states do not give the clothing exemption.
Costs
Housing Very high tho coming down a bit.
Utilities about 10th highest of 50 states. Oil heat is killer expensive.
Gasoline is relatively cheap.
Groceries seem moderately high.
Generic items are higher than average. I know when I went to a Walmart in KY there were several items that I buy regularly that were ~10% lower. Saw the same thing in OH when I visited the inlaws.
As an example I have a $1200 square foot, 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo in Union NJ. My taxes are $5,600 annually and that does not incluede any land. On top of that, it is approximately $3,840 annually for my association fees, $900 annually for electric, $900 annually for gas ect. In comparison with my cousin in KY that has a 2800 square foot 4 bedroom home on an acre of land and pays $1,800 annually for taxes $150 annually for their home association and nowhere near the same amount for their utilities.
It would be very hard for someone in NJ who is single and doing everythign on their own to own a home if they are making less then $100k.
meanwhile, I have 1800 square feet and 1/3 acre. i pay $9,800 annually for taxes, no association fees, approx $700 annually for electric, $1500 for gas. and your friend in kentucky probably lives in a school district that doesn't come close to mine and what they offer. yeah, my taxes are high, but the services my town and county provide are also high. not all are services i wish to have, but, you get what you pay for. it's no coincidence that the areas with the highest property taxes happen to have the most robust economies in the country.
chew on that.
we all want lower taxes and more services.
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