Each year, Americans dread April 15 — Tax Day. However, the IRS announced in March that American taxpayers would have an extra month to file their federal income taxes, pushing Tax Day to May 17 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, state filings will still proceed as planned in most places.
In 2019, the average state and local tax burden was 10.3% of income, but this figure varied widely from state to state — ranging from less than 6% to over 14%, meaning differences of thousands of dollars in a given year.
To determine the states where Americans are paying the most taxes, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on state tax burdens from tax policy nonprofit the Tax Foundation. States were ranked based on state and local taxes paid by each state’s residents as a percentage of that state’s net national product in 2019. State income figures are based on net national product, which measures the value of goods and services produced by U.S. residents, minus the value of the fixed capital used in production.
States with higher incomes tend to also have higher tax burdens. The typical U.S. income, as determined by the net national product per capita, was $55,874 in 2019. Each of the five states with incomes exceeding $65,000 had tax burdens that were higher than the national burden of 10.3%. Of the 21 states with incomes below $50,000, just one had a tax burden that exceeded 10.3%.
To calculate tax burdens the Tax Foundation included different kinds of taxes, — on purchases like property, public utilities, alcohol, fuel, and general sales, as well as taxes on incomes, inheritance, and many other financial transactions. Property taxes can sometimes make up a large share of total tax burdens, depending on the state in which the property is located. While some states have property taxes of under $1,000 per capita, residents of other states pay over $3,000 per person in property taxes. These are the states with the highest property taxes.
Click here to see the states where Americans are paying the most taxes.
Click here to see our methodology.
50. Alaska
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 5.8%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $3,605 (2nd lowest)
> Income per capita: $62,155 (9th highest)
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48. Wyoming (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 7.0%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,282 (13th lowest)
> Income per capita: $61,171 (10th highest)
48. Tennessee (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 7.0%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $3,368 (the lowest)
> Income per capita: $48,114 (14th lowest)
47. Texas
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.0%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,143 (10th lowest)
> Income per capita: $51,788 (25th lowest)
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46. Oklahoma
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.2%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $3,841 (5th lowest)
> Income per capita: $46,841 (11th lowest)
45. Arizona
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.7%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $3,926 (7th lowest)
> Income per capita: $45,126 (8th lowest)
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43. Florida (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.8%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,555 (19th lowest)
> Income per capita: $51,761 (24th lowest)
43. New Mexico (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.8%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $3,736 (4th lowest)
> Income per capita: $42,455 (3rd lowest)
39. North Dakota (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.9%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,996 (25th highest)
> Income per capita: $56,135 (17th highest)
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39. Indiana (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.9%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,289 (14th lowest)
> Income per capita: $48,191 (16th lowest)
39. Georgia (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.9%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,221 (11th lowest)
> Income per capita: $47,427 (13th lowest)
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39. South Carolina (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 8.9%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,000 (8th lowest)
> Income per capita: $44,944 (7th lowest)
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38. Alabama
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.0%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $3,893 (6th lowest)
> Income per capita: $43,256 (5th lowest)
37. South Dakota
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.1%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,855 (23rd lowest)
> Income per capita: $53,352 (22nd highest)
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35. Missouri (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.2%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,431 (17th lowest)
> Income per capita: $48,163 (15th lowest)
35. Louisiana (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.2%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,292 (15th lowest)
> Income per capita: $46,652 (10th lowest)
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34. Colorado
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.4%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,677 (17th highest)
> Income per capita: $60,394 (11th highest)
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32. North Carolina (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.5%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,490 (18th lowest)
> Income per capita: $47,263 (12th lowest)
32. Mississippi (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.5%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $3,654 (3rd lowest)
> Income per capita: $38,463 (the lowest)
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30. Utah (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.6%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,636 (21st lowest)
> Income per capita: $48,292 (17th lowest)
30. Idaho (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.6%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,336 (16th lowest)
> Income per capita: $45,167 (9th lowest)
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28. New Hampshire (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.7%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $6,090 (13th highest)
> Income per capita: $62,784 (8th highest)
28. Nevada (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.7%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,895 (24th lowest)
> Income per capita: $50,464 (22nd lowest)
27. Washington
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.8%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $6,245 (12th highest)
> Income per capita: $63,724 (7th highest)
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25. Kentucky (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.9%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,279 (12th lowest)
> Income per capita: $43,222 (4th lowest)
25. West Virginia (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 9.9%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,114 (9th lowest)
> Income per capita: $41,556 (2nd lowest)
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23. Virginia (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.0%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,854 (15th highest)
> Income per capita: $58,540 (12th highest)
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23. Michigan (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.0%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,841 (22nd lowest)
> Income per capita: $48,410 (18th lowest)
21. Kansas (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.1%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,292 (23rd highest)
> Income per capita: $52,396 (24th highest)
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21. Montana (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.1%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,956 (25th lowest)
> Income per capita: $49,069 (19th lowest)
18. Delaware (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.3%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,550 (19th highest)
> Income per capita: $53,883 (20th highest)
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18. Nebraska (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.3%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,548 (20th highest)
> Income per capita: $53,864 (21st highest)
18. Ohio (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.3%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,107 (24th highest)
> Income per capita: $49,583 (20th lowest)
16. Pennsylvania (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.4%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,970 (14th highest)
> Income per capita: $57,404 (15th highest)
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16. Arkansas (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.4%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $4,581 (20th lowest)
> Income per capita: $44,048 (6th lowest)
15. Massachusetts
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.5%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $7,658 (4th highest)
> Income per capita: $72,933 (2nd highest)
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14. Wisconsin
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.7%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,632 (18th highest)
> Income per capita: $52,636 (23rd highest)
13. Iowa
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 10.8%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,499 (21st highest)
> Income per capita: $50,917 (23rd lowest)
12. Maine
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 11.0%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,492 (22nd highest)
> Income per capita: $49,927 (21st lowest)
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10. Illinois (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 11.1%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $6,450 (10th highest)
> Income per capita: $58,108 (13th highest)
10. Oregon (tied)
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 11.1%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $5,809 (16th highest)
> Income per capita: $52,333 (25th highest)
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9. Rhode Island
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 11.4%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $6,334 (11th highest)
> Income per capita: $55,561 (18th highest)
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8. California
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 11.5%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $7,529 (6th highest)
> Income per capita: $65,470 (5th highest)
7. New Jersey
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 11.7%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $8,134 (3rd highest)
> Income per capita: $69,521 (4th highest)
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6. Maryland
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 11.8%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $7,539 (5th highest)
> Income per capita: $63,890 (6th highest)
5. Minnesota
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 12.1%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $7,001 (8th highest)
> Income per capita: $57,860 (14th highest)
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4. Vermont
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 12.3%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $6,693 (9th highest)
> Income per capita: $54,415 (19th highest)
3. Hawaii
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 12.7%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $7,144 (7th highest)
> Income per capita: $56,252 (16th highest)
2. Connecticut
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 12.8%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $9,705 (2nd highest)
> Income per capita: $75,820 (the highest)
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1. New York
> Taxes paid as pct. of income: 14.1%
> Total taxes paid per capita: $9,987 (the highest)
> Income per capita: $70,830 (3rd highest)
Methodology:
To determine the states where Americans are paying the most taxes, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on state tax burdens from tax policy nonprofit the Tax Foundation. States were ranked based on total state and local taxes paid by each state’s residents as a percentage of that state’s net national product in 2019. Net national product is a measure of the market value of the goods and services produced by U.S. residents less the value of the fixed capital used in production, or depreciation, and is effectively equivalent to net national income plus taxes. Estimates of state and local taxes reflect tax payments made to state and local governments.
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