Tax Burden by State

from WalletHub Apr 1, 2025

Kevin Uncle Sam takes his cut of the past year’s earnings every April, and since the tax code is so complicated, it’s hard for the average person to tell how they will be impacted. One simple ratio known as the “tax burden” helps cut through the confusion. Unlike tax rates, which vary widely based on an individual’s circumstances, tax burden measures the proportion of total personal income that residents pay toward state and local taxes. It isn’t uniform across the U.S., either.

To determine the residents with the biggest tax burdens, WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the cost of three types of state tax burdens — property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes — as a share of total personal income in the state.

Key Findings

• Hawaii has the highest overall tax burden, while Alaska has the lowest.
• Vermont has the highest property tax burden, while Alabama has the lowest.
• New York has the highest individual income tax burden, while eight states (including Texas, Florida and Washington) have none.
• Hawaii has the highest sales and excise tax burden, while New Hampshire has the lowest.
• Red states have a lower tax burden than blue states, on average.

Total Tax Burden

Hawaii has the highest total tax burden, with residents paying out nearly 14% of their income to state and local governments. That includes 4.2% on income taxes, 2.6% on property taxes, and 7.2% in sales and excise taxes….

Sales and Excise Tax Burden

Residents of Hawaii pay out around 7.2% of their income in sales and excise taxes every year. New Hampshire residents have the lowest burden – the state does not charge a general sales tax, and other excise taxes only work out to less than 1% of the average resident’s income each year….

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KHON: Hawaiʻi ranks highest for tax burdens, #1 for this