Part II — Power & Conflict · Lesson 37 · The World Stage

All 50 states, taxed

Income, property, sales, side by side

Three taxes determine the bulk of your state-level burden: state income tax, property tax (effective rate on home value), and combined sales tax (state plus average local). They interact differently — Texas has no income tax but punishing property taxes; New Hampshire has no income or sales tax but high property taxes; Tennessee has no income tax and moderate property taxes but the highest combined sales tax in the country. There is no free lunch. Every state collects revenue somehow; they just spread the load differently.

Click any column header to sort. Click any row to see what your salary actually nets in that state.

Income to compare$80,000

State ↕	Income tax ↕	Property tax ↕	Sales tax ↕	Effective burden ↕
ALAlabama	5%	0.41%	9.25%	7.9% ($6,332)
AKAlaska	none	1.19%	1.81%	5.3% ($4,242)
AZArizona	2.5%	0.62%	8.4%	7.5% ($6,000)
ARArkansas	4.4%	0.62%	9.46%	8.4% ($6,718)
CACalifornia	13.3%	0.75%	8.85%	15.0% ($11,972)
COColorado	4.4%	0.55%	7.78%	8.9% ($7,147)
CTConnecticut	6.99%	2.14%	6.35%	15.4% ($12,286)
DEDelaware	6.6%	0.57%	0%	6.9% ($5,520)
FLFlorida	none	0.98%	7.02%	6.0% ($4,821)
GAGeorgia	5.39%	0.92%	7.38%	11.3% ($9,027)
HIHawaii	11%	0.32%	4.5%	10.3% ($8,264)
IDIdaho	5.8%	0.69%	6.03%	10.4% ($8,295)
ILIllinois	4.95%	2.27%	8.85%	16.7% ($13,348)
INIndiana	3.05%	0.85%	7%	8.6% ($6,840)
IAIowa	5.7%	1.57%	6.94%	12.4% ($9,882)
KSKansas	5.7%	1.41%	8.66%	12.2% ($9,782)
KYKentucky	4%	0.86%	6%	9.2% ($7,392)
LALouisiana	4.25%	0.55%	9.55%	8.0% ($6,432)
MEMaine	7.15%	1.36%	5.5%	12.1% ($9,676)
MDMaryland	5.75%	1.09%	6%	10.2% ($8,148)
MAMassachusetts	9%	1.23%	6.25%	13.1% ($10,476)
MIMichigan	4.25%	1.54%	6%	12.2% ($9,768)
MNMinnesota	9.85%	1.12%	7.5%	13.6% ($10,900)
MSMississippi	4.7%	0.81%	7.07%	10.1% ($8,049)
MOMissouri	4.95%	0.97%	8.39%	9.9% ($7,890)
MTMontana	5.9%	0.84%	0%	7.5% ($5,992)
NENebraska	5.84%	1.73%	6.94%	13.1% ($10,472)
NVNevada	none	0.59%	8.23%	4.8% ($3,863)
NHNew Hampshire	none	2.18%	0%	8.7% ($6,976)
NJNew Jersey	10.75%	2.49%	6.6%	19.5% ($15,572)
NMNew Mexico	5.9%	0.8%	7.62%	9.6% ($7,693)
NYNew York	10.9%	1.73%	8.53%	17.1% ($13,687)
NCNorth Carolina	4.5%	0.84%	6.99%	10.0% ($7,966)
NDNorth Dakota	2.5%	0.98%	6.97%	7.8% ($6,209)
OHOhio	3.5%	1.56%	7.24%	10.9% ($8,690)
OKOklahoma	4.75%	0.9%	8.97%	9.6% ($7,693)
OROregon	9.9%	0.93%	0%	10.7% ($8,520)
PAPennsylvania	3.07%	1.58%	6.34%	11.3% ($9,034)
RIRhode Island	5.99%	1.63%	7%	12.8% ($10,250)
SCSouth Carolina	6.4%	0.57%	7.5%	9.0% ($7,208)
SDSouth Dakota	none	1.31%	6.4%	7.2% ($5,728)
TNTennessee	none	0.71%	9.55%	5.7% ($4,564)
TXTexas	none	1.8%	8.2%	9.7% ($7,728)
UTUtah	4.55%	0.66%	7.2%	9.3% ($7,480)
VTVermont	8.75%	1.9%	6.36%	15.6% ($12,506)
VAVirginia	5.75%	0.82%	5.77%	9.0% ($7,229)
WAWashington	none	0.98%	8.86%	6.6% ($5,262)
WVWest Virginia	5.12%	0.58%	6.55%	7.9% ($6,295)
WIWisconsin	7.65%	1.85%	5.43%	14.4% ($11,507)
WYWyoming	none	0.61%	5.44%	4.1% ($3,258)

What's actually going on

States with no income tax (AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY): they pay for government through property tax (Texas, NH), sales tax (TN, WA), severance tax on resource extraction (AK, WY), or some combination. None of them are "low tax" overall — they've shifted the burden to different shoulders, often more regressively. Sales tax hits low-income earners harder because they spend a higher share of income on taxable goods.

States with the highest income tax (CA 13.3%, HI 11%, NY 10.9%, NJ 10.75%, OR 9.9%): these have strong public services and high cost of living. Real public investment but at a cost.

Property tax extremes: NJ (2.49%), IL (2.27%), NH (2.18%) at the top; HI (0.32%), AL (0.41%), CO (0.55%) at the bottom. On a $400K home, the difference is $7,000+ per year, every year, for life.

The sales tax trap: states without income tax often have the highest combined sales taxes (TN 9.55%, LA 9.55%, AR 9.46%). For a working-class household, sales tax functions as a flat tax — the opposite of progressive income tax.

The hidden tax: regulatory cost of living. Two states with identical tax burdens can have wildly different costs of living because of zoning, occupational licensing, and utility regulation. California's high taxes are amplified by housing scarcity into an even higher effective cost. Tennessee's "low tax" advantage is partly offset by service gaps residents pay for privately. Headline tax rate is the start of the analysis, not the end.

What you just learned

Every state taxes you. The only choice is which dimensions get loaded heaviest. "Low tax" states usually achieve their reputation by shifting burden onto sales tax (regressive), property tax (hits homeowners), or service gaps (you pay privately for what other states provide). There is no magic state where everyone wins.