Avalon, NJ: Property Tax Guide

New Jersey Is Not Delaware, and an Affluent Reputation Is Not a Tax Rate

This site's earlier Delaware markets sit in a state widely described as having no state sales tax and a comparatively light property tax reputation. Avalon, like Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, and Stone Harbor before it, breaks from that pattern entirely: New Jersey levies a state sales tax, and New Jersey administers property taxation through its own state, county, and municipal structure that does not resemble Delaware's. A buyer arriving at Avalon from a Delaware market on this site should not assume the tax math carries over -- it does not.

Avalon's well-documented upscale character -- Forbes's 2007 ranking as the 65th most expensive ZIP code in the United States, a 2010 census median household income of $88,527, a median family income of $135,781, a per capita income of $99,655, and Washingtonian magazine's description of Avalon as the "chicest beach" in the Mid-Atlantic -- makes for a genuinely affluent barrier-island community. It is reasonable to expect that a town with this kind of documented income and reputation carries higher assessed values than many other shore towns. That expectation is not the same thing as a tax rate, an assessment figure, or a typical annual bill, and this page does not convert Avalon's reputation or its dated 2007/2010 figures into any such number.

Two Local Layers: Cape May County and the Borough of Avalon

A property tax bill on an Avalon parcel generally reflects at least two layers of local government, consistent with how New Jersey property taxation is commonly structured: Cape May County, the county Avalon sits within on Seven Mile Island, and the Borough of Avalon itself -- incorporated April 18, 1892 following an April 16, 1892 referendum, formed from portions of Middle Township, with its own elected government and its own municipal budget. New Jersey property tax bills commonly include a local school district component as well, which is a further reason not to assume a single simple combined rate applies to a given parcel.

This page does not state what the current Cape May County rate, the current Borough of Avalon municipal rate, any current school-related component, or a combined current bill actually is, because confirming those specific figures precisely was not possible in this research pass. New Jersey's statewide assessment and equalization framework still shapes how the county and the borough each administer their own local rates, even though the specific current numbers are not stated here.

An Arthurian Naming Story, a Shared Founding With Stone Harbor, and Why Neither Tells You a Tax Rate

Avalon holds a genuinely distinctive civic identity: around 1887-1888, Rev. Charles Henry Bond, a colleague at the Seven Mile Beach Company, proposed naming the town "Avalon" because the island's then-untamed landscape of forests, dunes, ponds, marshes, and large cedar and oak trees reminded him of the mythical Isle of Avalon from Arthurian legend, the fabled resting place of King Arthur. Bond later founded the town's first newspaper and named it "The Round Table" as a second, deliberate nod to the same legend. Avalon's motto, "Cooler by a Mile," reflects a real geographic fact -- the town's position extending roughly one mile farther into the Atlantic Ocean than neighboring barrier islands. The borough also shares a founding story with neighboring Stone Harbor: the Seven Mile Beach Company purchased Seven Mile Island in 1887 and developed Avalon on its northern half and Stone Harbor on its southern half.

None of that literary history, geographic motto, or founding story tells you what a specific parcel is assessed at or taxed. Residential and commercial parcels can be assessed differently under New Jersey's system, and a specific parcel's classification and assessment are matters for Cape May County and the Borough of Avalon to confirm directly, not something inferable from the town's naming lore or its affluent reputation.

What This Page Does Not State, and Why

In the interest of not guessing at figures that change year to year and that only the taxing authorities themselves can state accurately: this page does not give a current Cape May County tax rate, a current Borough of Avalon municipal tax rate, a current school-tax component, a current assessment ratio or methodology, a current typical assessed value, a current typical annual tax bill, a specific New Jersey state sales tax rate, or the specifics of any current exemption or credit program. Current population figures beyond the 2020 census, current median home prices, and current listing counts are also outside the scope of what this page states as fact.

Anything you encounter elsewhere describing a specific current Avalon property tax rate, 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 Cape May County property tax rate and a specific parcel's assessed value, contact Cape May County government directly, or check its published assessment and tax rate materials; the county is the authoritative source for the county layer that applies to every property within it, including Avalon. For the current Borough of Avalon municipal tax rate and any school-tax component that applies within the borough, contact the Borough of Avalon's own finance office directly, since the borough administers its own municipal rate and billing independently of the county. For the State of New Jersey's current sales tax rate and any applicable exemptions, 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. For how a specific parcel's classification, use, or location on Seven Mile Island may affect its assessment, contact the Borough of Avalon's assessor or finance office directly, before assuming a listing description or the town's affluent reputation tells you anything about a property's actual tax treatment.

A Professional-Consult Disclaimer

Property tax rates, assessment methods, exemption programs, and sales tax rates change over time and are set by Cape May County, the Borough of Avalon, 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 Avalon property tax, confirm current numbers directly with Cape May County government, the Borough of Avalon finance office, the State of New Jersey, or a qualified New Jersey tax professional.