Adjusted for inflation, homeowners in 42 percent of New Jersey municipalities are paying lower property taxes.
TRENTON -- Are many New Jersey residents actually paying less in property taxes than they were five years ago?
The state's sky-high property taxes crossed the $8,300 threshold in 2015 as New Jersey residents continue to get smacked with the highest real estate rates in the nation.
However, a NJ Advance Media analysis of statewide property tax data has found that property taxes in 42 percent of municipalities increased at less than the rate of inflation from 2010 to 2015.
During that time, the average statewide property tax bill rose about 10 percent, from $7,576 to $8,353. When accounting for inflation, which rose about 9 percent, the property tax bills rose slightly more than 1 percent.
But 237 municipalities, that are home to nearly 46 percent of the state's population, kept their tax increases below the rate of inflation.
Which counties in N.J. have the highest, lowest property taxes?
NJ Advance Media analyzed municipal tax figures going back 15 years and found that, when adjusted for inflation, the impact of property tax relief relief measures enacted during Gov. Chris Christie's first term -- including strict caps on local spending and public worker arbitration rewards -- is clear.
Property taxes rose 1 percent when adjusted for inflation from 2010 to 2015 after soaring 35 percent, after inflation was taken into account, from 2000 to 2010, the analysis found.
Data show only five municipalities -- Teterboro, Pemberton, Woodbine, Lebanon and Union City -- kept tax bills lower in 2015 than in 2000, after inflation.
Christie spokeswoman Joelle Farrell noted that during Christie's first six years, property tax growth "has slowed to an annual average of 1.97 percent, dramatically lower than the 7 percent yearly average in the 10 years before the Christie administration."
"You have to ask yourself, where would New Jersey's property taxes be if not for the governor's reforms," Farrell said. "If annual average increases continued at a rate of 7 percent for the past six years?"
Michael Darcy, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities said the 2 percent spending cap enacted by Christie helped, but reforms to public worker benefits and the arbitration cap made it possible for local officials to rein in some costs.
"I think it is safe to say that overall the escalation of property taxes has been significantly curtailed compared to historic trends," said Darcy.
But property taxes remain the top issue for New Jersey voters, because even though they are rising at a slower rate, they are still going up every year and remain the highest in the nation.
Nearly six out of ten towns saw property taxes exceed the rate of inflation, and the vast majority of residents have not seen significant tax decreases since Gov. Chris Christie's much-ballyhooed tax cap went into effect five years ago.
At the same time, wages have largely stalled and the average real estate bill in New Jersey is higher than 99.8 percent of U.S. homeowners.
Democratic and Republican leaders in the state Legislature last month targeted property taxes as the big issue to tackle when laying out their agenda for the year.
It's great that the state and municipalities have been able to curtail the rate of growth, said Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), "but that's in reality still not acceptable."
"The sad thing is that they were too high to begin with," he said.
The NJ Advance Media review found many reasons for the fluctuation in property taxes.
Irvington Township in Essex County, leads the group of 237 municipalities from 2010 to 2015, with a 22.5 percent reduction in property taxes after inflation is taken into account.
Homeowners there saw an actual reduction of 0.43 percent in their average property tax bill from 2014 to 2015.
Irvington has been saddled with high property taxes, said Mayor Tony Vauss, who took office in 2014. The township stepped up enforcement of property maintenance and parking ordinances, generating $1.2 million in new revenue, he said Wednesday.
"We've been able to reduce the rate a little bit to give some type of relief," he added.
Corbin, a small city in Atlantic County, came in a close second, with a nearly 22 percent drop in five years after inflation.
While the 5-year comparison showed it was cheaper to live in some municipalities last year than five years ago, tax increases in the rest of New Jersey's 565 municipalities have outpaced inflation.
Walpack Township's residents have enjoyed relatively low property taxes. In fact, in 2014 they were the lowest in New Jersey, on average, at $439. But in 2015 it became superlative for another reason.
Last year, the tiny Sussex County's town's average bill for its 14 residents increased 315 percent -- the largest single-year increase, by a landslide. It's also the largest 5-year hike.
"We ended up being assessed $46,000 for one student to attend Kittatinny Regional High School," Mayor Victor J. Maglio said, noting that the town participates in a regional school district. "Because of that, the property tax had to be raised that 300 percent."
Such tremendous swings are not as common in communities with more robust populations, but large tax increases have still occurred in some areas across the state despite the Christie administration's efforts.
Cash-strapped Atlantic City has seen a 20 percent increase in the average property tax bill, while Camden and Elizabeth were among the 33 municipalities that saw increases of more than 10 percent over the last five years.
Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.