Moving To This Small NJ Suburb With Low Property Taxes Has One Major Drawback
According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2023 American Community Survey, property taxes in the state of New Jersey made the top 10 in terms of how much is paid as a percentage of housing, coming in second place with an effective rate of 1.77%. Eight counties in New Jersey represented half of the 16 U.S. counties with the highest property taxes that year, with median property tax payments totaling over $10,000. Teterboro, although located in New Jersey's Bergen County, is considered a suburb of New York City, where property taxes came in at 1.26% in 2023, a low burden — but still placing it in ninth place. That said, buying a house here isn't cheap — and that's why the tax rate still ranked higher than other places in the country.
According to the Department of Community Affairs via NorthJersey.com, Teterboro boasts among the lowest property taxes in Bergen county, at $2,108 in annual property taxes. It takes the number one spot for the lowest property tax burden, in a county where the median is around $9,212, and can reach highs of $10,001 per year. New Jersey had the highest effective property rate in 2023, although New York is no slouch in that department either — if you view Teterboro as a New York suburb. While it's true that there are a few small towns in New York state that won't drain your bank account, and Teterboro undoubtedly offers a little tax relief in the form of lower property taxes, that doesn't guarantee you'll escape the burden of other high living expenses.
Property taxes are low, but the cost of property isn't
Buying a home in Teterboro isn't cheap or easy to naviagte. The usual housing search engines, including Zillow and Realtor.com, fail to provide listings for that specific region, and a Trulia map displaying homes for sale only shows homes just outside, or on the border of, the suburb. However, a look at Bergen County real estate courtesy of Realtor.com may give you an idea of what to expect — assuming there is any housing inventory available. A median listing price of $780,000 is even more expensive than Fort Lee at a median of $415,000 — this New Jersey town on the Hudson River has one of the most expensive retirement communities in America. As per the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, this represents a $370,000 higher cost than the national median sales price. So while property taxes here are low, the cost of owning a home isn't.
Like homes for sale, homes for rent in Teterboro aren't plentiful. On rental sites, you'll find homes within 20 miles, or in the best case scenario, within four miles of Teterboro. Although it makes it difficult to calculate an average or median, if you search the average rent in Bergen County on Zillow, you'll find the average rent is $2,750 per month as of August 2025. By comparison, for the same period as per Zillow, the average rent in the U.S. is $2,100.
Housing inventory is an issue here
There's no denying the main economic driver of Teterboro is the airport, and according to the American Enterprise Institution, airports can also be exempt from taxes. NJ.com confirms this is the case for Teterboro Airport, which also makes up half the town which helps Bergen county have among the lowest comparable tax rates in its state. While this makes it attractive to companies like Amazon, which owns a fulfillment center in Teterboro the company signed a 10-year lease to operate out of in 2016, and other Fortune 500 companies, it hasn't had a huge impact on the population from 2019 up to current day. The population of homeowners in 2019 were roughly 67 residents, all living in a single townhome development that included the mayor.
As per the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Teterboro was just 120 people. With so few people living in so few homes, that leads to the sort of housing inventory that leaves real estate search engines blank. As previously mentioned, the affordability of these homes, even if any were available, doesn't do much to improve the state's image as one of the most expensive states to live or retire. As per the Massachusett's Institute of Technology (MIT) living wage calculator, two employed adults with one child would need to earn $100,561 before taxes per year. Meanwhile, according to MIT, in nearby Passaic County, just an 18-minute drive away, that amount is $86,003 per year.