US states ranked by how much of their income residents pay in taxes, from least to most
16 April, 2026careerofbusiness.com0 Comments1 category
Hawaii has the highest tax burden in the US, according to a new analysis.
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With the tax deadline behind them, Americans may have a clearer sense of how much they pay in taxes.
Tax burden measures how much residents of each state pay in taxes in proportion to their income.
Hawaii and New York have the highest tax burdens, while Alaska and New Hampshire rank lowest.
With tax day behind us, US taxpayers should have a better idea of how much they contribute to their local, state, and federal governments through taxes.
Federal taxes apply nationwide, but local taxes like income, property, sales, and excise taxes — taxes paid by retailers and passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices — can add up differently in each state.
While some states have higher overall tax rates, tax burden measures how taxes compare to personal income in each state, or what share of their income residents of every state pay in taxes.
A WalletHub study ranked all US states by their tax burden on residents. The study used data from the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan DC-based think tank, on property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes as shares of personal income to calculate the tax burden of every US state.
“It’s easy to be dismayed at tax time when you see just how much of your income you lose,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the study. “Living in a state with a low tax burden can alleviate some of that stress.”
Nine US states have no state income tax in 2026, while others, like California, have individual income tax rates of up to 13.3% according to the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan research think tank.
Five states also don’t have a state sales tax, according to the Tax Foundation. While Alaska residents may still pay up to 7.85% in local sales taxes, the other four states also have no local sales taxes in place.
See how every US state ranks by residents’ tax burden, according to WalletHub’s report.
50. Alaska
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Total tax burden: 4.92%
Property tax burden: 3.32%
Sales and excise tax burden: 1.60%
Income tax burden: 0%
49. New Hampshire
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Total tax burden: 5.38%
Property tax burden: 4.33%
Sales and excise tax burden: 0.91%
Income tax burden: 0.13%
While New Hampshire historically taxed dividend and interest income at a 3% rate, the tax was repealed in 2025, adding the state to the list of eight other US states that do not impose a state income tax.
