WalletHub<\/a>\u00a0ranked all 50 states by total tax burden, offering a big-picture look at what residents really pay. And despite its reputation, California isn\u2019t the worst offender.<\/p>\nInstead, Hawaii, New York and Vermont top the list as the states where residents hand over the largest share of their income to state and local taxes.<\/p>\n
Despite its reputation, California isn\u2019t the worst offender when it comes to how much of their income actually goes to taxes. Andrew S. \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
The analysis measures tax burden as a percentage of total personal income \u2014 a broader and more telling metric than just looking at tax rates alone.<\/p>\n
That distinction matters. <\/p>\n
While California boasts the highest top marginal income tax rate in the nation at 13.3% for the 2026 fiscal year, it ranks No. 11 overall in tax burden.<\/p>\n
In other words, the Golden State may hit high earners hard on paper, but the total share of income residents pay across all taxes isn\u2019t the highest nationwide.<\/p>\n
Hawaii leads the pack with a total tax burden of 13.3%, driven largely by steep sales and excise taxes. New York follows at 12.39%, with Vermont close behind at 11.1%, thanks in part to the highest property tax burden in the country.<\/p>\n
New York is at 12.39% for total tax burden. woodsnorth \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
At the other end of the spectrum, Alaska ranks as the most tax-friendly state, with residents paying just 4.92% of their income in taxes. Florida, Tennessee and New Hampshire also land near the bottom, making them especially attractive for tax-conscious residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easy to be dismayed at tax time when you see just how much of your income you lose. Living in a state with a low tax burden can alleviate some of that stress.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome states charge no income tax or no sales tax, although all states have some form of property taxes and excise taxes,\u201d WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said.<\/p>\n
The WalletHub study compared states across three key metrics \u2014 property taxes, individual income taxes and total sales and excise taxes \u2014 calculating each as a share of residents\u2019 personal income. Those figures were then combined to produce an overall tax burden ranking for each state.<\/p>\n
Vermont leads the country in property taxes. rabbit75_fot \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
The report breaks tax burden into three main categories: property taxes, individual income taxes and sales and excise taxes. That approach highlights how states generate revenue in very different ways.<\/p>\n
For example, Oregon has the highest income tax burden, while several states \u2014 including Texas, Florida and Nevada \u2014 charge no income tax at all.<\/p>\n
Vermont leads in property taxes, whereas Alabama residents pay the least in that category. Meanwhile, Hawaii again tops the list for sales taxes, while New Hampshire residents pay the least.<\/p>\n
The findings also point to a broader political divide. <\/p>\n
On average, states that lean Democratic tend to have higher overall tax burdens, while Republican-leaning states generally rank lower \u2014 though they often rely more heavily on sales taxes to make up the difference.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the data shows there\u2019s no simple answer when it comes to taxes. Lower-tax states may offer fewer public services, while higher-tax states often provide more robust programs \u2014 leaving residents to weigh the trade-offs.<\/p>\n
See the full ranked list below (highest to lowest tax burden):<\/p>\n
Alaska<\/p>\n
Hawaii<\/p>\n
New York<\/p>\n
Vermont<\/p>\n
New Mexico<\/p>\n
Maine<\/p>\n
Illinois<\/p>\n
Maryland<\/p>\n
New Jersey<\/p>\n
Oregon<\/p>\n
Rhode Island<\/p>\n
California<\/p>\n
Iowa<\/p>\n
Kansas<\/p>\n
Indiana<\/p>\n
Minnesota<\/p>\n
Ohio<\/p>\n
Connecticut<\/p>\n
West Virginia<\/p>\n
Utah<\/p>\n
Mississippi<\/p>\n
Massachusetts<\/p>\n
Louisiana<\/p>\n
Kentucky<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania<\/p>\n
Washington<\/p>\n
Arkansas<\/p>\n
Nevada<\/p>\n
Virginia<\/p>\n
Nebraska<\/p>\n
Georgia<\/p>\n
Wisconsin<\/p>\n
Michigan<\/p>\n
Alabama<\/p>\n
Missouri<\/p>\n
North Carolina<\/p>\n
Texas<\/p>\n
Colorado<\/p>\n
South Carolina<\/p>\n
Montana<\/p>\n
Arizona<\/p>\n
Oklahoma<\/p>\n
Idaho<\/p>\n
North Dakota<\/p>\n
Wyoming<\/p>\n
South Dakota<\/p>\n
Delaware<\/p>\n
Florida<\/p>\n
Tennessee<\/p>\n
New Hampshire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresh off tax season, Americans now have a clearer idea of where their state stacks up when it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,2289,4182,4694,1694,3586,548],"class_list":["post-276002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-hawaii","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-taxes","tag-us-news","tag-vermont"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}