Breakdown: Where Did Your Princeton Taxes Go In 2014?

New Jersey, land of the property tax.

But where does that money go, and what is it used for?

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs this week released its complete breakdown of each municipality’s tax payments to schools, libraries, counties, and open space sections.

Princeton topped the list in both property values and property taxes in Mercer County. Princeton residents pay the second highest in county taxes and the third highest in school taxes.

The average property value of a home in Princeton is $795,855, with the average annual tax payment of $17,385.

But where did those taxes go in 2014? Here’s a breakdown:

County Open Space Preservation Trust Fund: $1,817,980.83

Total County Tax Levy: $45,231,664.57

Total School Levy: $70,974,744

Municipal Purposes: $28,297,248.28

Municipal Open Space: $1,152,302

Minimum Library Tax: $2,409,609

Total Municipal Tax Levy: $31,859,159.18

Total Princeton Tax Used for Tax Rate: $148,065,567.85

The total rate comes out to 2.184, or $2.18 in taxes for every $100 of assessed property value.

County, municipal, and school districts are subject to a 2-percent tax levy cap each year, which prohibits each body from exceeding the previous year’s budget by two-percent. In the case that a town or school district needs to surpass the limit, a vote must be put to the public. Health and pension costs supplied by the town or school district to its employees is exempt from the tax cap.

All tax rates for all municipalities are available on the Department of Community Affairs’ website.

So what do you think? Are you happy with the numbers or do things need to change? Let us know by leaving a comment below.