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NJ, NY top list of highest state+local taxes; where does your state fall?

Tom Barlow
Aug 7th 2008 at 10:30AM

Filed under: Tax

Hate high taxes? Then the just-released results of a study by the Tax Foundation might help you decide where to live. The study compiles, state by state, the actual state plus local tax burden for each resident.

Ten highest state/local tax burdens are found in

  1. New Jersey, 11.8%
  2. New York, 11.7%
  3. Connecticut, 11.1%
  4. Maryland, 10.8%
  5. Hawaii, 10.6%
  6. California, 10.5%
  7. Ohio, 10.4%
  8. D.C., 10.3%
  9. Vermont, 10.3%
  10. Minnesota, 10.2%

The ten best 'bargain' states for state/local taxes:

  1. Alaska, 6.4%
  2. Nevada 6.6%
  3. Wyoming 7.0%
  4. Florida 7.4%
  5. New Hampshire 7.6%
  6. South Dakota 7.9%
  7. Tennessee 8.3%
  8. Louisiana 8.4%
  9. Texas 8.4%
  10. Arizona 8.5%


What does this mean in real money? These states' residents, based on the state's per capita income, pay this amount less than the national average:

  1. Mississippi $(1,459.24)
  2. Alaska $(1,420.83)
  3. West Virginia $(1,303.16)
  4. South Dakota $(1,203.50)
  5. New Mexico $(1,193.97)
  6. South Carolina $(1,175.77)
  7. Alabama $(1,164.65)
  8. Tennessee $(1,131.17)
  9. Montana $(1,128.44)
  10. Kentucky $(1,064.77)

These pay more than the national average:

  1. District of Columbia $2,992.55
  2. Connecticut $2,718.12
  3. New Jersey $2,329.05
  4. New York $2,146.10
  5. Maryland $1,399.93
  6. Massachusetts $1,090.16
  7. California $716.49
  8. Hawaii $637.63
  9. Minnesota $410.17
  10. Virginia $378.63

How does this impact the standard of living in these states? The educational system? The infrastructure? At a glance, there seems to be a clear progressive nature to these taxes.

Among those who might be most interested in this list are retirees on a fixed income. Looks like the South has tax bargains galore.

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