Atlantic City, NJ: Property Tax Guide

How New Jersey Property Tax Actually Works

New Jersey does not apply a single statewide property tax rate to a home's price. Instead, each municipality -- Atlantic City included -- sets its own local tax rate every year based on what its own municipal budget, its own share of Atlantic County costs, and its own local school funding require, then divides that total levy across the combined assessed value of every taxable property within its borders. The tax rate a given town ends up with is therefore a function of two things: how much the town, county, and school district together need to raise, and how much total assessed value exists to spread that levy across.

That second variable -- total taxable assessed value, and what kind of property it is attached to -- is where Atlantic City becomes genuinely distinctive among the New Jersey shore towns this site covers. Most of the smaller towns already built on this site spread their levy across a base made up overwhelmingly of residential homes, many of them seasonal. Atlantic City's tax base instead includes nine large operating casino-resort properties alongside its residential and commercial stock, which changes the underlying math of who and what is generating the assessed value that the city's tax rate gets divided across.

A Tax Base Anchored by Nine Casinos

Casino gambling was approved for Atlantic City by New Jersey voters through a 1976 referendum, passing 56%-44%, and Resorts Atlantic City opened May 26, 1978, as the first legal casino in the eastern United States. The industry has been genuinely volatile since: four casinos closed in 2014 alone -- the Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel, and Trump Plaza -- and the Trump Taj Mahal closed in October 2016. The city has since stabilized to nine operating casinos, which together generated $2.79 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2022, a 9% increase over 2021's $2.55 billion, even as the industry continues to face real competitive pressure from casinos in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York.

That casino industry is also a major property owner and taxpayer within Atlantic City's borders, which means swings in the casino industry's health -- closures, reopenings, revenue growth, or renewed out-of-state competition -- can move the city's overall assessed value and tax-base stability in ways that a purely residential shore town never experiences. This is a structural point about how Atlantic City's tax base is composed, not a statement about what the city's current tax rate, casino assessments, or tax bills actually are; none of those figures are stated here because none were independently confirmed for this page. The city's research also flags that the Atlantic City Tourism District has historically applied its own distinctive local sales tax structure separate from the statewide rate -- another reason to confirm current figures directly with the State of New Jersey rather than assume a rate from elsewhere applies here.

Who Actually Sets the Rate: Atlantic City’s Faulkner Act Government

Every New Jersey municipality's tax rate ultimately gets set by whoever controls that town's municipal budget, and Atlantic City's answer to that question is a Faulkner Act Mayor-Council government, in place since July 1, 1982. Under this structure, an elected Mayor serves alongside a nine-member City Council -- six members elected from individual wards and three elected at-large -- with all members serving four-year terms. The Mayor and Council together are responsible for adopting the municipal budget that determines the city's portion of the annual property-tax levy, a considerably larger governing body than the three-member commissions or five-member councils that run several of the smaller shore towns already covered on this site.

As of 2026, that government is led by Mayor Marty Small Sr., a Democrat whose term runs through December 31, 2029; he succeeded Frank M. Gilliam Jr. following Gilliam's October 3, 2019 resignation. City Council's composition has also shown real turnover: in a court-ordered special election in November 2024, Republican Maria Lacca won the city's 5th Ward seat -- the first Republican win in that ward since 1988 -- after Democrat Muhammed "Anjum" Zia was removed from office for not residing in the city. Whoever holds the Mayor's office and the nine Council seats in a given term is directly responsible for the spending decisions that feed into Atlantic City's share of the property-tax rate each year, and that roster should be confirmed directly with the city rather than assumed current from any dated source, including this one.

Why a Casino Economy Complicates the Comparison

Atlantic City's finances cannot be read the same way as a neighboring residential shore town's. On one hand, nine large casino properties represent a concentrated source of assessed value that a small town without a casino industry simply does not have. On the other hand, Atlantic City has also faced real, documented economic hardship: in 2022, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority ranked Atlantic City second on its list of the state's food desert communities, and as of 2024 only one functioning supermarket-type store operated within city limits. Both realities -- a large casino-driven tax base and a documented resource gap for year-round residents -- exist in the same city at the same time, and neither one by itself tells you what the current property tax rate or a typical bill actually is.

This is the core reason this page treats Atlantic City's property tax picture as structurally distinctive rather than as a simple extension of what a smaller neighboring town charges: the mix of a Faulkner Act Mayor-Council government, a nine-casino tax base worth $2.79 billion in 2022 gross gaming revenue, and a city that has also weathered real economic strain adds up to a fiscal picture that needs to be confirmed with current, city-specific figures rather than estimated from a neighboring market's rate.

What This Page Does Not State, and Why

In the interest of not guessing at figures that change every budget cycle and that only the taxing authorities themselves can state accurately, this page does not give a current Atlantic City municipal tax rate, a current Atlantic County tax rate, a current school-tax component, a current assessment ratio or methodology, a current typical assessed value, a current typical annual tax bill, or a specific New Jersey state sales tax rate, including any specific current rate for the Atlantic City Tourism District's distinctive local sales tax structure. Atlantic City's own research does not include a confirmed historical average tax bill figure, so none is stated here.

Current population figures beyond the 2020 census count of 38,497, current median home prices, current listing counts, current gross gaming revenue figures beyond the confirmed 2022 total, and current casino names beyond the nine confirmed operating as of the source material are likewise outside the scope of what this page states as fact. Anything you encounter elsewhere describing a specific current Atlantic City property tax rate, casino assessment figure, or New Jersey sales tax rate should be verified directly with the sources below before you rely on it for a purchase, renovation, or budgeting decision.

Where to Confirm Current Figures

For the current Atlantic County property tax rate and a specific parcel's assessed value, contact Atlantic County government directly, or check its published assessment and tax rate materials; the county is the authoritative source for the layer that applies to every property within it, including Atlantic City. For the current City of Atlantic City municipal tax rate, budget details, and any school-tax component, contact Atlantic City's own finance office directly, since the city's Mayor and nine-member Council adopt their own budget and rate independent of the county and of neighboring Ventnor City and Margate City. For the State of New Jersey's current sales tax rate, and for any current rate specific to the Atlantic City Tourism District, consult the State of New Jersey's own tax authority directly rather than relying on a figure from another state's market on this site or an outdated figure found elsewhere. For how a specific parcel's classification, casino-adjacent location, or use may affect its assessment, contact Atlantic City's assessor or finance office directly before assuming a listing description or this page's general explanation tells you anything about a specific property's current tax treatment.

A Professional-Consult Disclaimer

Property tax rates, assessment methods, exemption programs, and sales tax rates change over time and are set by Atlantic County, Atlantic City's Mayor and Council, and the State of New Jersey, not by this site. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, financial, or zoning advice. Before making a purchase, budgeting a tax bill, or relying on any figure describing Atlantic City property tax, confirm current numbers directly with Atlantic County government, Atlantic City's finance office, the State of New Jersey, or a qualified New Jersey tax professional.