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10 U.S. States with the Highest Tax Burden

Name the states with the greatest tax collection as a percent of personal income.
Includes property, sales, and income tax
Source: WalletHub
As of April 2, 2024
Feel free to check out 10 U.S. States with the Lowest Tax Burden as well.
Quiz by FlabberBapper
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Last updated: January 22, 2025
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First submittedDecember 24, 2016
Times taken35,392
Average score70.0%
Rating4.30
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State
12.0
New York
11.8
Hawaii
11.1
Vermont
10.7
Maine
10.4
California
%
State
10.0
Connecticut
10.0
Minnesota
9.7
Illinois
9.5
New Jersey
9.4
Rhode Island
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92 Comments
samiamco
+37
Level 68
May 25, 2019
So proud of my former home, Taxachusetts, for getting out of the top ten! (I wonder how *that* ever happened!)
KIS
+10
Level 82
Jun 14, 2019
First state I tried, for exactly that reason.
Bdubz
+5
Level 42
Aug 10, 2019
I was shocked when that didn't come up
benjaminmarker
+43
Level 73
Aug 25, 2021
And I'm quite happy paying more taxes as it ensures that all my fellow Danes can get an education and get healthcare and not get bankrupt if they get sick.
bestanford
+13
Level 72
Oct 31, 2023
We would also be happy to pay Danish taxes if we had the Danish government! But we don't. Our public spending is notoriously poor and ineffective and so yes, we do resent it.
rabble
+10
Level 68
Apr 17, 2024
Ah, yes, and the residents of these states get the utopias of NYC, Chicago, Baltimore, St Paul, etc.
Freestatebear
+4
Level 87
Jan 24, 2025
Baltimore? Maryland isn't on the list - and I don't think it ever has been. Definitely in the upper half of the high-tax list, but closer to the middle than the top.
BillShep1230
+3
Level 71
Apr 16, 2025
None of the cites you mentioned are even in the top 10 for crime rate. They are pretty safe all things considered and have lots of great amenities.
TheQuizzler
+11
Level 64
Apr 24, 2024
Then why don't you give 100% of your income to the government to give more of your fellow citizens of those things if you are so happy about it?
ChaosLord
+11
Level 76
Jan 23, 2025
That's a really silly question, and I hope you know that.
ctleng76
+9
Level 65
Apr 15, 2025
It's not silly at all. The government shouldn't be in the business of taking my money by force to help others. It should be up to me, of my own free will, to give money to people that need it. The more time passes, the more we add to the list of tax-payer funded programs. Why? Because the ones in place now aren't fixing the problems. Food stamps, welfare, social security, medicare, government subsidized housing, government subsidized healthcare. All of it taxpayers pay into but don't qualify for. Its those who don't pay taxes that reap all the benefits. So basically, I am being told that it is my duty to pay for other people's living expenses whether they all deserve it or not. There will always be those who can't help themselves. But many benefactors of these programs could help themselves if they were shown how. We have fostered a society of helpless dependents.
nerdalert
+3
Level 88
Jan 24, 2025
The Lutheran welfare state works great if everyone's Lutheran.
Bigdaddy178
+1
Level 27
Apr 15, 2025
You're not danish
bostjan
+1
Level 71
Aug 25, 2021
I also tries Mass first, and I even live in one of the top three.
loganite
+1
Level 92
Jan 22, 2025
All you Massholes got wicked tired of paying! ;)
mrnafe
+10
Level 84
May 25, 2019
Income tax levels are surprisingly low over there, in the UK we hover around 20% + 12% national insurance
nobrain
+37
Level 56
May 25, 2019
This is just state tax, there’s federal tax on top.
IsleAuHaulte
+8
Level 91
May 25, 2019
Still cheaper than state income, federal income, sales, property, excise and fuel tax plus "fees" for everything the government requires you to do. Add in private health insurance as a wage cost to employees you never even see included as an a wage benefit and we're blowing that 33% out of the water.
Quizmaster
+21
Level ∞
May 30, 2019
If you live in New York City you could end up paying about 50% of your income in tax, which is similar to the highest European countries such as Denmark or (shudder) Belgium.
BobSaget
+96
Level 78
Jun 14, 2019
Thankfully New York is in America, where we have our freedom from social services like government-guaranteed health insurance, retirement, vacation, early childhood care, college tuition, elder care, and so on...You really have to feel bad for the Danes and Belgians, who are forced to get something in return for their taxes.
WanderingWalrus
+2
Level 81
Oct 26, 2023
You will have to look very hard for a Dane or Belgian that is unhappy about this
kitsims
+7
Level 85
Oct 27, 2023
I think that was the point of Bob's post, Walrus.
CartoJuggernaut
+11
Level 71
Jun 14, 2019
@BobSaget all those things are nice, but why should I have to pay for yours
CaptainUnderpant
+11
Level 81
Oct 26, 2023
My taxes help fund public schools even if I don't have kids, why should I have to pay to educate other people's children? The world is just so unfair!
WanderingWalrus
+15
Level 81
Oct 26, 2023
Because if they are well educated they will contribute to society better and be less likely to mug you. Or in the USA, shoot you
PietjePuk24
+3
Level 82
Apr 11, 2025
Why should I pay for the fire department when your house is on fire?
canjoel01
+33
Level 64
Jun 14, 2019
Because you're a nice goon and you care about your neighbors. And it end up being less expensive for yourself given the cost of your current plan and the cost you already pay in taxes for America's convoluted health care system. That being said, there is something to be said for America's freedom of choice and the ability to pay your way into a better plan.
BobSaget
+53
Level 78
Jun 15, 2019
@CartoJuggernaut: for the same reason I pay for the fire department to put out a fire at your house, and not just mine.
TheQuizzler
+7
Level 64
Jun 17, 2019
@BobSaget

Running a fire department on an individual or household basis is nearly impossible. The same cannot be said for your medical insurance, paid time off, and retirement.

shazs317
+27
Level 60
Jun 17, 2019
@CartoJuggernaut because the math works. If we all have government-run healthcare the government has negotiating power with pharmaceutical companies and hospitals that private healthcare companies never had. This means cheaper healthcare costs for all of us. Thus your increase in taxes will be less than you were paying for private health insurance. Also, it's absurd to think that you're never going to use healthcare, childcare, college, or vacation in your life or your children's. Not to mention that you're already paying for services you don't use on a daily basis like public education, policing, fire and so much more through the government.
AL2881
+8
Level 41
Aug 25, 2021
@CartoJuggernaut -- almost two years too late, but because lack of those services are a big factor in why the US has a life expectancy that is significantly lower than the rest of the heavyweight industrialized nations, the Channel Islands, Martinique, Malta, Greece, Guadeloupe, Portugal, Slovenia, Réunion, Cyprus, and lower also than the U.S. Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Guam, Chile, Qatar, Puerto Rico, French Guiana, Maldives, Mayotte, Barbados, Curaçao, Lebanon, Cuba and Estonia (https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/). The factors that lead to that lower life expectancy affect the quality of life of all people in the US.
pkerr116
+2
Level 72
Aug 29, 2021
Why is New York City so expensive? Because it's worth it.
WanderingWalrus
+1
Level 81
Oct 26, 2023
And the rest. Higher earners pay 45% and lose their tax free allowance
mf3
+1
Level 89
May 25, 2019
Wasn't expecting a red state (IA) on this list.
onegonecat
+21
Level 73
May 31, 2019
Iowa isn't a red state. It's purple and has a long history of progressiveness. It was one of the first states to legalize gay marriage, and was the home of arguably one of the most progressive political figures of American politics, Henry Wallace.
sumokitty
+5
Level 85
Jun 17, 2019
Iowa also has an excellent public education system, something that voters in many other states seem reluctant to pay for.

And one of Iowa's senators for 30 years, Tom Harkin, was quite liberal and the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

bostjan
+3
Level 71
Aug 25, 2021
I don't know about "one of the first." I mean, before Iowa legalized it, several states allowed it, then banned it, and some allowed it again. Iowa was something like the 14th state to explicitly allow it, if you discount the fact that so many states that allowed it ended up banning it again before Iowa even initially allowed it.
MalyJacus
+1
Level 60
Apr 15, 2025
I guess no more since update. IA has had one of the largest state income tax DEcreases in the nation. Go hawkeyes!
vomitingdiamonds
+3
Level 85
May 26, 2019
How about a quiz on which states (or better yet, countries) have the lowest tax rates for the wealthy and on companies?
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
May 30, 2019
Ireland seems to be a popular choice for corporations such as Google and Apple.
Walacama
+6
Level 83
Jun 18, 2019
Compare this list with "best states to live in/raise children" I bet there is a correlation.
MalyJacus
+1
Level 60
Apr 17, 2025
Or not. Utah, Kansas, Idaho have some of the best places to raise a family, but are usually low tax. And NYC is perennially one of the worst. Taxes at a state or federal level have little to nothing to do with school performance at a local level.
RKS
+1
Level 66
Sep 4, 2019
What's the lowest?
Maximirb13
+2
Level 77
Apr 12, 2021
Funny that NYC is a type in for New York state. I assume it is auto because of New York although in this situation it is not referring to the city.
rphxx
+1
Level 72
Oct 26, 2023
nyc is almost always a typein for new york (state)
Worldmaster
+1
Level 28
Jul 17, 2021
Hawaii?!?!?!
sumguy
+1
Level 86
Aug 21, 2021
Do all of these states have a flat tax, or is this an average, or the rate for the lowest bracket, highest bracket...?
shortyoh
+3
Level 84
Aug 25, 2021
This is an average.

When you break it out by income bracket, a lot of things show up that are contrary to popular opinion.

For example, if you look at non-elderly taxpayers in California or Texas, you'll see that for the bottom 60% of earners, California offers lower taxes than Texas. The bottom 20% there is a very large difference in particular. It's only the wealthy (really about the top 5-10%) where California actually taxes more.

Most states are actually regressive that way in taxation - very few states tax the bottom 20% less than they do the top 1% as a percent of their income (CA, DE, MN, NJ, VT). But the press reports based on taxes for the wealthy or averages, which are skewed towards what is done for the wealthy rather than the median.

AlmostAGenius
+1
Level 85
Oct 26, 2023
Texas doesn’t have state income tax. Not saying this is better or worse, but California definitely doesn’t have a lower tax rate from an income standpoint. Our property taxes are very high though.
KingEureka
+1
Level 62
Aug 22, 2021
What is the federal income tax rate in the US?
shortyoh
+1
Level 84
Aug 25, 2021
It varies based on amount and type of income.

For example, the bottom 20% of households by income pay a total federal tax burden of about 1.3% on average (-10.9% on income taxes, 9.4% on payroll taxes, 0.6% on corporate taxes, 2.2% on excise taxes). The top 1%, by comparison, pay an average of 31.6% (24.4% in income taxes, 2.2% on payroll taxes, 4.8% on corporate taxes, 0.2% on excise taxes).

You can also structure your income to avoid taxes, particularly if you're wealthy. I don't do anything unusual, but my investment income is generally taxed between 0% and 15%. My earned income I'm in a 22% tax bracket, but pay an effective total income tax rate of about 12%.

Confused? That's all thanks to the CPA lobby. :)

Qikiq
+1
Level 89
Aug 23, 2021
What is the logic behind Minnesota being on the list? It was far down my list so I missed it.
joeythelemur
+3
Level 82
Aug 25, 2021
Taxes are terrible in MN, that's why it's on the list. As bad as NJ!!
ducktownhusker
+7
Level 66
Aug 25, 2021
So... blue states, then? Shocker.
fakeplastictrees
+13
Level 52
Aug 25, 2021
I mean yeah that shouldn't be a surprise. But also many of the states with the highest life expectancies, HDI, Quality of Life, equality, best education systems, the list goes on.
kalbahamut
+13
Level 81
Aug 25, 2021
but if you measure in terms of truck nuts per capita these are also the poorest states in the country.
kalbahamut
+8
Level 81
Aug 25, 2021
I wonder whose interests its in to try and convince people that healthcare, education, jobs, infrastructure, quality of life, etc is less important than lowering taxes.
CaptainUnderpant
+1
Level 81
Oct 26, 2023
I was waiting for this comment, there's always someone finding the deep, hidden meanings lying in wait for us to discover the amazing correlation
LudwigVonKoopa
+4
Level 58
Aug 25, 2021
This whole chat is just a political debate... shocker
Jacktheguy
+2
Level 92
Aug 25, 2021
If Quizmaster’s true to his word, we should expect a large chunk of comments to be deleted soon.
TwinVincible
+1
Level 26
Aug 25, 2021
yeah lol
Quizmaster
+7
Level ∞
Oct 26, 2023
I've deleted plenty already. It's pretty tiresome.
LudwigVonKoopa
+1
Level 58
Aug 25, 2021
So I might as well join in, people argue that high taxes are bad and the response is it makes a better quality of life which is true in most situations but, in reality, we wouldn't need as much taxes if everyone was a better person as in raising their children (CPA), and drug companies weren't so cruel with their marked-up prices, and good education wasn't so hard to find but that's a perfect world and in reality, humans are flawed so our governments have to balance excessive taxes with good quality of life... or at least I think.

p.s. : I know there are exceptions like if a parent physically isn't able to raise children but still...

kalbahamut
+8
Level 81
Aug 26, 2021
but that's sort of the anarchist/libertarian philosophy to governance (and why it fails from the onset): because people aren't all wonderful, selfless, and responsible. Corporations are greedy, cruel, and corrupt. And there will always be someone who seizes whatever power, wealth, or authority that others voluntarily surrender, or abuse whatever is given to them, if there is nothing in place to stop them from doing so. Is it possible for there to be overreach in the opposite direction leading to tyranny or oppression? Laws or law enforcement that are overly draconian and onerous and more stifling than helpful? Can bureaucracy get out of hand and needlessly self-perpetuating and self-enlarging? Yeah, of course. But a healthy synthesis will never be all one or the other. Those arguing otherwise are either naive or have an agenda and ulterior motives.
cranbeckh
+1
Level 69
Aug 26, 2021
Thanks, kalbahamut. Perfect answer
LudwigVonKoopa
+2
Level 58
Aug 26, 2021
Yeah, that was a pretty amazing response, but I actually like taxes now that I think about it because... well, you know what they say, without them the only certainty would be d e a t h.
MarkHevrdejs
+1
Level 63
Oct 26, 2023
Kind of a deceptive quiz - by making it based on the percent of personal income as opposed to marginal rates - you make some of the most burdensome tax states on the middle class drop off the list of high tax states. California has the highest income taxes of any state by far but because apparently the amount of wealthy people residing in the state - it falls off the list.
FlabberBapper
+1
Level 76
Oct 26, 2023
Income tax is only one portion of these percentages, if you look at the source it also includes property taxes and sales taxes in the total tax burden. Also in case you were curious, California is sitting at #12 and was in the top 10 last year
FlabberBapper
+1
Level 76
Oct 26, 2023
Another thing to keep in mind, a state's tax burden isn't necessarily an equivalent to how expense a state is to live in. This quiz might be more what you're looking for which is state's with the worst affordability using metrics such as cost of living, median income, housing affordibility, etc. Not just taxes as this quiz is.
Jerry928
+5
Level 76
Nov 4, 2023
"Burden"??!! You could just as well say States With Best Funded Services, which really is the point of taxation.
Quizmaster
+7
Level ∞
Nov 4, 2023
Wouldn't the ideal be to have the highest level of services with the lowest taxes?

Taxes on their own aren't a positive. Surely you'd agree that if the government raised your taxes and then just wasted them, that wouldn't be a good thing?

Jerry928
+6
Level 76
Nov 5, 2023
Of course. But the more money a government has to invest in a nation's wellbeing (ie in its hospitals, education and transport networks) the healthier in many senses that nation will be. "Waste" is never quantified by anti-taxers, it's just used as a throwaway slag-off line that (if people believe them) would simply cause a reduction in the services required to run a country well.
MalyJacus
+2
Level 60
Apr 15, 2025
Wow, Quizmaster, with this answer you might get accused of MAGAism in some circles. You shouldn't but you would.

To the OP: point to one example of a country that's been taxed into prosperity.

cuendillar
+7
Level 70
Feb 26, 2024
Surely 'burden' has an unnecessary negative connotation. Why not just call it 'highest tax rate' instead, since that is a much more neutral term?
FlabberBapper
+5
Level 76
Feb 27, 2024
yeah
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
Jan 22, 2025
1:01 used
Jerry928
+3
Level 76
Jan 23, 2025
"Burden"? What?! "Highest tax rates" would be both less emotive and mor neutral. In fact "Highest tax investment" is equally true, and far more positive, because the more tax that's collected, the more expenditure on roads, education, health, police etc occurs to create a healthy society. The real burden comes when tax-cutting obsessives reduce the ability of those states to provide for its citizens.
FlabberBapper
+5
Level 76
Jan 23, 2025
Jerry, buddy, you made this same comment two years ago lol
Jerry928
+3
Level 76
Jan 24, 2025
Have I convinced you yet? I must have made an impression if you remembered from two years back! (I didn't remember posting that, but when I look up the comments list, yep, there it is :))
jmellor13
+4
Level 67
Apr 15, 2025
You're just presuming the government will use taxes efficiently. This is simply not true. I live in Chicago, where the government is corrupt and incompetent. They keep raising taxes just to cover their screw-ups. We're not getting any more value for our increased tax contributions. Now the city wants to take out a high-interest loan just to pave the roads, run the buses, and fund other basic services. It's absurd. And before someone chimes in with the obvious: I am liberal. I understand the importance of taxes, of accessible healthcare, and of quality and affordable education. But it's not as simple as "higher taxes = better quality of life." In Chicago, higher taxes is the result of government waste and incompetence. Just about anyone who lives here and isn't a dense ideologue with his head in the sand will tell you as much.
KanzazKyote
+2
Level 89
Feb 11, 2025
Every single one of these states is shrinking. Most of them also have god awful services. California is on track to lose not one but four congressional districts in the next cycle, and has the highest poverty when adjusted for cost of living - yes, even higher than Arkansas or Mississippi. How are them taxes going?
idontkn1
+2
Level 92
Apr 15, 2025
Would it make you feel better if the title used the phrase "Tax Privilege"? It is the common usage in American English to use "burden" to describe the rate at which people pay taxes. Besides, it is a financial debt that is owed to the government and it's obligations are enforceable up to and including seizure of general property and imprisonment. When you're options are pay or prison that does seem a bit burdensome. Almost no other financial obligations unless agreed upon prior to execution can claim unspecified property and send you to the pokey. The only other one that comes close is child support.
rabble
+1
Level 68
Apr 16, 2025
"California to Spend $8.4 Billion This Year on Health Care for Illegal Aliens"

The State is my husband. The news is my religion. I was born to be a slave. ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽

(p.s. the Hoover Dam cost less than a billion dollars, adjusted for inflation)

Snoflakes
+2
Level 71
Jan 24, 2025
12% is a joke. Here in the Netherlands, the base percentage is around 36% and increases per income class! Then again, we actually see those taxes being put to good use here
Neodymium
+2
Level 63
Apr 11, 2025
This is state level taxes only
FlabberBapper
+1
Level 76
Apr 11, 2025
Yeah these tax rates listed on this quiz are not in addition to the federal tax rates or city tax rates if applicable, but even with those combined I'd still imagine they would be less than that of the Netherlands.
Garrey
+1
Level 43
Apr 15, 2025
I can't believe that the nice Minnesotans are in the top 10. How are we higher than Pennsylvania or Georgia, or even North Carolina
MalyJacus
+2
Level 60
Apr 15, 2025
I believe it.
chonny
+1
Level 54
Apr 15, 2025
8 of the 10 states in this quiz are also in the top 10 for life expectancy (source: World Population Review).
plmnkoi
+4
Level 33
Apr 16, 2025
Alternative title: Name the Blue States
Sean1573
+3
Level 46
Apr 16, 2025
And New York is first, to no one's surprise...
Liad14
+3
Level 35
Apr 18, 2025
all blue states! just saying.
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