I Compared Property Taxes: California vs New Jersey vs Florida on a $700K Home

How do property taxes compare on a $700,000 home in California, New Jersey, and Florida?

On a $700,000 home, estimated annual property taxes are roughly $5,180 in California, $15,470 in New Jersey, and $6,090 in Brevard County, Florida before any homestead exemptions are applied. The bigger story is the monthly payment difference once you also factor in state income tax, which Florida does not have.

Most relocation buyers I work with on Florida's Space Coast are coming from New Jersey, New York, and California. Property tax is the first number they want to see, so let us run the math on the same $700,000 home in all three states.

The Numbers Side by Side

Here is what those property tax bills look like on the same $700,000 home, using effective tax rates from publicly available state data:

State	Effective property tax rate	Annual property tax on $700K home
California	0.74%	$5,180
New Jersey	2.21%	$15,470
Florida (Brevard County)	0.87%	$6,090

Sources: Tax Foundation, SmartAsset, and the Brevard County Property Appraiser.

Why California's Property Tax Bill Looks So Low

California's effective property tax rate sits below the national average because of Proposition 13. Once you buy a home in California, the assessed value is locked in at your purchase price and can only grow by up to 2% per year, no matter what the market does. The headline rate of 1% sounds steep, but the assessed value usually trails actual market value by a wide margin.

This is why a longtime homeowner in Los Angeles or San Diego often pays less in property tax than a brand-new buyer down the street. That savings does not transfer when you sell. The buyer behind you starts at full purchase price.

The other catch in California is state income tax, which we will get to in a minute.

Why New Jersey Leads the Country in Property Taxes

New Jersey has the highest effective property tax rate in the United States at roughly 2.21% statewide, according to the Tax Foundation. Some New Jersey counties run higher. Essex, Bergen, and Union counties regularly top $12,000 to $20,000 a year on a typical single-family home.

This is the primary reason so many buyers I work with in Brevard County are coming out of New Jersey. They sell a $700K home in Bergen or Monmouth County, where property tax was running $14,000 to $18,000 a year, and they buy a comparable home in Viera, Merritt Island, or Satellite Beach where property tax lands closer to $6,000 to $8,000 annually.

What Property Taxes Look Like in Brevard County, Florida

Brevard County, Florida, where the Space Coast sits, has an effective property tax rate of approximately 0.87% according to the Brevard County Property Appraiser. The exact rate varies slightly by city and special taxing district. Here is roughly what to expect:

• Melbourne, Florida: about 0.85% to 0.95%
• Viera and Rockledge: about 0.85% to 1.05% depending on assessments
• Merritt Island: about 0.80% to 0.90%
• Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach: about 0.85% to 0.95%
• Titusville: about 0.90% to 1.00%

Note that some newer Viera subdivisions carry additional assessments on top of property tax, so confirm for the specific home. That is a separate line item we cover in another post.

The Piece Most Relocation Buyers Miss: State Income Tax

Florida has no state income tax. California has the highest state income tax in the country, with a top marginal rate of 13.3%. New Jersey's top rate is 10.75%.

For a household earning $200,000 in taxable income, the rough annual state income tax bill looks like:

State	Approx state income tax on $200K
California	$15,000 to $17,000
New Jersey	$11,000 to $13,000
Florida	$0

Stack that on top of the property tax difference and the picture changes dramatically. A relocation buyer moving from a high-cost New Jersey or California ZIP often saves $15,000 to $25,000 per year in combined state and property tax, even before housing prices enter the conversation. (Source: Tax Foundation state income tax data.)

How Florida's Homestead Exemption Changes the Math

If you make Brevard County, Florida your primary residence, you qualify for two big benefits:

• $50,000 homestead exemption on most non-school property tax (the first $25K applies to all taxes, the second $25K applies to non-school taxes on assessed value above $50K).
• Save Our Homes cap, which limits the annual increase in your assessed value to 3% or the change in CPI, whichever is lower.

Translation: once you own and homestead a Florida home, your taxable value can only grow modestly each year, regardless of how hot the market gets. (Source: Florida Department of Revenue.)

What This Means for Your Monthly Mortgage Payment

Property taxes show up in your monthly mortgage escrow. On the same $700,000 home with 20% down at a 7% rate, the monthly principal and interest is identical in all three states (about $3,725). What changes is the tax line:

State	Monthly P&I	Monthly property tax	Total before insurance
California	$3,725	$432	$4,157
New Jersey	$3,725	$1,289	$5,014
Florida (Brevard)	$3,725	$508	$4,233

The Brevard County, Florida monthly tax line is about $780 a month less than New Jersey on the same home. Over a year, that is more than $9,000 in your pocket, before you ever count the state income tax savings.

One honest note: Florida homeowners insurance runs higher than the national average, especially on older roofs and waterfront homes. The tax savings are real, but you need to budget for insurance to compare apples to apples. We cover that in detail in another post.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Florida have property tax?

Yes. Florida has property tax assessed at the county level. In Brevard County, where the Space Coast sits, the effective rate is around 0.87%. Florida does not have state income tax, which is the bigger savings for most relocation buyers.

Why are New Jersey property taxes so high?

New Jersey funds most local services, including public education, primarily through property tax. The statewide effective rate of roughly 2.21% is the highest in the country. Some New Jersey counties exceed that. (Source: Tax Foundation.)

How much will my property tax actually be when I buy a home in Brevard County, Florida?

Brevard County reassesses to market value at sale. Plan on roughly 0.85% to 1.0% of your purchase price annually, depending on city and any community assessments. After you homestead the property, the Save Our Homes cap limits future increases to 3% or CPI, whichever is lower. The Brevard County Property Appraiser's tax estimator at bcpao.us gives you a property-specific number.

Property tax is one piece of the bigger comparison. For the full cost-of-living math when you cross state lines, see our cost of living comparison between Florida, New Jersey, and California.

And for the housing comparison side of that 700K, see what 700K actually buys in New Jersey vs the Space Coast.

If your TRIM notice looks off, here is how to challenge your Brevard County property tax assessment.

Thinking About a Move to Brevard County?

If you are looking at the numbers on a Florida relocation and trying to figure out whether the move pencils out, I can run a side-by-side payment comparison on any specific Space Coast home you are considering, including taxes, insurance, and HOA. My partner Nichole and I got your back. Reach out anytime at (321) 212-7676 or www.livingspacecoast.com.