Jones Lang LaSalle
N.J.'s top 3 richest ZIP codes in Morris
Income data put county taxpayers at top of state
BY COLLEEN O'DEA
DAILY RECORD
As last-minute income tax filers receive their refunds and procrastinators finish their returns, it's easy to imagine what it might be like to have a gross income of more than half a million dollars.
There's a place right in Morris County where the average filer's income was that high. It's New Vernon's 07976. That income made it the wealthiest ZIP code in New Jersey in 2002 -- the most recent data available.
Morris County is also home to the second- and third-wealthiest ZIP codes, measured by income tax data: 07962 in Morristown and 07931 in Far Hills, which includes portions of Chester Township.
The county's wealth never has been in doubt, but these data from the Internal Revenue Service provide more proof.
According to the IRS's data, the average adjusted gross income -- the sum of all taxable sources of income minus allowed adjustments but before deductions -- in the New Vernon section of Harding was $566,541. The average salary per return was $569,080 and the average interest was $22,165.
But earning such a large amount of money has a high price: a total tax bill of $217,547.
"New Vernon is part of Harding Township, which, to my knowledge, has always been one of the wealthiest municipalities in the county,"said Christine Marion, a Morris County planner. "The wealth of the Morristown area, including Harding, Morris Township and Morristown, can be traced back to at least 'the Gilded Age.'" In the early 1700s, what is now Harding was merely an agricultural community. While nearby areas grew with industrialization, Harding remained open, with rolling fields for pasture, grain and orchards and a small one-room schoolhouse and general store marking each of several villages.
Around the turn of the 20th century, wealthy city families seeking rural peace began settling in the area, Marion said. These included the Dodge, Vanderbilt and Twombly families. The Frelinghuysen family still owns several properties there, including one on which U.S. Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-11th, lives.
It was estate owners who led the charge in 1922 to incorporate Harding, which at the time was part of what was then called Passaic Township and now is Long Hill. The township was named for President Warren G. Harding.
Today, rolling hills and fields with large homes set back from the road still predominate. Despite being close to Routes 287, 24 and 78 and just 25 miles from New York City, it is still Morris County's least densely populated municipality -- with 155 people per square mile. That's because residents began preservation efforts in 1928, when many voluntarily agreed to preserve their land.
"I love riding through this area, it's so beautiful, so clear," said Howard Caruso, who lives in Somerset County and often rides his bicycle through the area to Jockey Hollow and the Great Swamp.
Not surprising
The New Vernon ZIP code covers only a portion of Harding, but it's the area where much of the wealth is concentrated, Marion said.
She said she was not surprised to find New Vernon atop the state's income list.
"Without doing a lot of research, I can only guess that New Vernon ranks 1 because there are few, if any, non-wealthy households in the New Vernon ZIP code area," Marion said.
Morristown's 07962 ZIP code may also include some residents of Harding, which would help explain its $389,652 average adjusted gross income per return. Morristown's 07960 is the main ZIP both for the town and for portions of Harding, but 07962 is for post office boxes only.
Ranking third in gross income in the state and, again, in Morris County, is the 07931 Far Hills ZIP code. Based in adjacent Somerset County, the ZIP is only partially in Morris, covering portions of Chester Township.
While several years old, the IRS data shows some of the effects of economic change and tax cuts early in this Bush administration.
In the period from 1998 to 2002, average adjusted gross income and average salary grew in nearly every ZIP code in Morris County. But between 2001 and 2002, the average adjusted gross income dropped in two thirds of the county's ZIP codes. The average salary also dropped in nearly as many areas.
Less taxes
As for the total tax bill, the average filer in three-quarters of Morris ZIP codes paid the federal government more in 2002 than in 1998. However, that 2002 tax bill was lower, on average, than it had been in 2001 in all but seven of Morris County's 57 ZIP codes.
"The tax cutting in recent years has been pretty unprecedented," said Chris Edwards, director of tax policy at the Cato Institute. "People are definitely paying less in taxes now."
He said that while many have "lambasted" Bush for cutting taxes for the rich, the president's tax cuts actually helped almost every filer.
"People at different income levels did get about the same percentage tax cut," he said.
This year, more than 122 million families have filed tax returns for 2005. Seven of every 10 got or are getting a refund, with the average refund $2,237 -- a total of $190 billion.
Last month, Bush enacted extensions of earlier tax cuts, which is expected to total a $70 billion reduction. The law extends for two more years the 15 percent tax rate for capital gains and dividends. It also extends for another year changes to the alternative minimum tax to prevent it from hurting upper middle-income families. Designed to hit the very wealthy, it has become more common for those in high-tax states to have to pay AMT on incomes of $100,000 or more. In Morris County, the average income in 16 areas was higher than $100,000.
Still, Democrats complained that the tax cuts favor the wealthy.
Unfair cuts
"The Bush administration and the Republican leadership are far more interested in helping their wealthiest friends than hard-working, middle-class Americans," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., at the time. "The GOP made its choice, and they chose millionaire investors and oil companies over middle-class families."
Edwards cautioned that these tax cuts could have to be paid for and then some unless the Bush administration cuts spending and lowers the deficit.
"Unless spending and the deficit are controlled, it could be some years in the future, we'll be paying for these," he said. "Now, all these tax cuts are only temporary."
N.J.'s top 3 richest ZIP codes in Morris
Income data put county taxpayers at top of state
BY COLLEEN O'DEA
DAILY RECORD
As last-minute income tax filers receive their refunds and procrastinators finish their returns, it's easy to imagine what it might be like to have a gross income of more than half a million dollars.
There's a place right in Morris County where the average filer's income was that high. It's New Vernon's 07976. That income made it the wealthiest ZIP code in New Jersey in 2002 -- the most recent data available.
Morris County is also home to the second- and third-wealthiest ZIP codes, measured by income tax data: 07962 in Morristown and 07931 in Far Hills, which includes portions of Chester Township.
The county's wealth never has been in doubt, but these data from the Internal Revenue Service provide more proof.
According to the IRS's data, the average adjusted gross income -- the sum of all taxable sources of income minus allowed adjustments but before deductions -- in the New Vernon section of Harding was $566,541. The average salary per return was $569,080 and the average interest was $22,165.
But earning such a large amount of money has a high price: a total tax bill of $217,547.
"New Vernon is part of Harding Township, which, to my knowledge, has always been one of the wealthiest municipalities in the county,"said Christine Marion, a Morris County planner. "The wealth of the Morristown area, including Harding, Morris Township and Morristown, can be traced back to at least 'the Gilded Age.'" In the early 1700s, what is now Harding was merely an agricultural community. While nearby areas grew with industrialization, Harding remained open, with rolling fields for pasture, grain and orchards and a small one-room schoolhouse and general store marking each of several villages.
Around the turn of the 20th century, wealthy city families seeking rural peace began settling in the area, Marion said. These included the Dodge, Vanderbilt and Twombly families. The Frelinghuysen family still owns several properties there, including one on which U.S. Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-11th, lives.
It was estate owners who led the charge in 1922 to incorporate Harding, which at the time was part of what was then called Passaic Township and now is Long Hill. The township was named for President Warren G. Harding.
Today, rolling hills and fields with large homes set back from the road still predominate. Despite being close to Routes 287, 24 and 78 and just 25 miles from New York City, it is still Morris County's least densely populated municipality -- with 155 people per square mile. That's because residents began preservation efforts in 1928, when many voluntarily agreed to preserve their land.
"I love riding through this area, it's so beautiful, so clear," said Howard Caruso, who lives in Somerset County and often rides his bicycle through the area to Jockey Hollow and the Great Swamp.
Not surprising
The New Vernon ZIP code covers only a portion of Harding, but it's the area where much of the wealth is concentrated, Marion said.
She said she was not surprised to find New Vernon atop the state's income list.
"Without doing a lot of research, I can only guess that New Vernon ranks 1 because there are few, if any, non-wealthy households in the New Vernon ZIP code area," Marion said.
Morristown's 07962 ZIP code may also include some residents of Harding, which would help explain its $389,652 average adjusted gross income per return. Morristown's 07960 is the main ZIP both for the town and for portions of Harding, but 07962 is for post office boxes only.
Ranking third in gross income in the state and, again, in Morris County, is the 07931 Far Hills ZIP code. Based in adjacent Somerset County, the ZIP is only partially in Morris, covering portions of Chester Township.
While several years old, the IRS data shows some of the effects of economic change and tax cuts early in this Bush administration.
In the period from 1998 to 2002, average adjusted gross income and average salary grew in nearly every ZIP code in Morris County. But between 2001 and 2002, the average adjusted gross income dropped in two thirds of the county's ZIP codes. The average salary also dropped in nearly as many areas.
Less taxes
As for the total tax bill, the average filer in three-quarters of Morris ZIP codes paid the federal government more in 2002 than in 1998. However, that 2002 tax bill was lower, on average, than it had been in 2001 in all but seven of Morris County's 57 ZIP codes.
"The tax cutting in recent years has been pretty unprecedented," said Chris Edwards, director of tax policy at the Cato Institute. "People are definitely paying less in taxes now."
He said that while many have "lambasted" Bush for cutting taxes for the rich, the president's tax cuts actually helped almost every filer.
"People at different income levels did get about the same percentage tax cut," he said.
This year, more than 122 million families have filed tax returns for 2005. Seven of every 10 got or are getting a refund, with the average refund $2,237 -- a total of $190 billion.
Last month, Bush enacted extensions of earlier tax cuts, which is expected to total a $70 billion reduction. The law extends for two more years the 15 percent tax rate for capital gains and dividends. It also extends for another year changes to the alternative minimum tax to prevent it from hurting upper middle-income families. Designed to hit the very wealthy, it has become more common for those in high-tax states to have to pay AMT on incomes of $100,000 or more. In Morris County, the average income in 16 areas was higher than $100,000.
Still, Democrats complained that the tax cuts favor the wealthy.
Unfair cuts
"The Bush administration and the Republican leadership are far more interested in helping their wealthiest friends than hard-working, middle-class Americans," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., at the time. "The GOP made its choice, and they chose millionaire investors and oil companies over middle-class families."
Edwards cautioned that these tax cuts could have to be paid for and then some unless the Bush administration cuts spending and lowers the deficit.
"Unless spending and the deficit are controlled, it could be some years in the future, we'll be paying for these," he said. "Now, all these tax cuts are only temporary."
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 9:00 AM
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