Tax

The 10 worst states for taxes

Feeling the pinch? It maybe because you live in one of the states with the highest tax burden in the country.

How much individuals pay in tax varies widely from state to state in the U.S., with a gap of almost 10 percentage points from the lowest effective rate to the highest in the country.

Figuring out that effective rate can be difficult, as not every state fields the same slate of taxes, though most commonly they include some mix of the following:

  • Real estate taxes;
  • Vehicle property taxes;
  • Income taxes; and,
  • Sales and excise taxes.

A recent WalletHub study calculated the tax burden of each state and the District of Columbia, and ranked them from No. 1 (the least) to No. 51 (the heaviest — the list includes the District of Columbia); this table shows the 10 states where you'd pay the highest amount of taxes based on median U.S. household income, while the cards below share some details about those individual states.

(Click here to see the states with the lowest tax burdens.)

Rank

State

Annual state and local tax burden

42

Texas

$10,222

43

Ohio

$10,480

44

Iowa

$10,854

45

Nebraska

$10,997

46

Kansas

$11,385

47

New Jersey

$11,416

48

Pennsylvania

$11,445

49

Connecticut

$11,838

50

New York

$12,143

51

Illinois

$13,699

Welcome to Texas road sign
jaflippo - stock.adobe.com

42. Texas

Effective total state & local tax rate: 12.59%

Effective income tax rate: NA
Effective real estate tax rate: 6.11%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: NA
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 6.48%
Welcome to Ohio Sign
Joe Sohm/spiritofamerica - stock.adobe.com

43. Ohio

Effective total state & local tax rate: 12.9%

Effective income tax rate: 2.58%
Effective real estate tax rate: 5.38%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: NA
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 12.9%
Welcome to Iowa Sign
Joe Sohm/spiritofamerica - stock.adobe.com

44. Iowa

Effective total state & local tax rate: 13.37%

Effective income tax rate: 2.09%
Effective real estate tax rate: 5.71%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: 0.36%
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 13.37%
Welcome to Nebraska sign
mikesch112 - stock.adobe.com

45. Nebraska

Effective total state & local tax rate: 13.54%

Effective income tax rate: 1.77%
Effective real estate tax rate: 6.09%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: 0.81%
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 13.54%
Welcome to Kansas sign
Marek Uliasz/MarekPhotoDesign.com - stock.adobe.com

46. Kansas

Effective total state & local tax rate: 14.02%

Effective income tax rate: 2.7%
Effective real estate tax rate: 5.28%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: 0.69%
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 14.02%
Welcome to New Jersey road sign
Aneese - stock.adobe.com

47. New Jersey

Effective total state & local tax rate: 14.06%

Effective income tax rate: 1.11%
Effective real estate tax rate: 8.65%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: NA
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 14.06%
Pennsylvania Welcome Sign
Picasa/Katherine - Fotolia

48. Pennsylvania

Effective total state & local tax rate: 14.09%

Effective income tax rate: 4.11%
Effective real estate tax rate: 5.33%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: NA
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 14.09%
connecticut-welcome-sign-istock.jpg

49. Connecticut

Effective total state & local tax rate: 14.58%

Effective income tax rate: 1.4%
Effective real estate tax rate: 7.42%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: 0.74%
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 14.58%
Welcome to New York Road Sign
Christopher Boswell/Christopher Boswell - stock.adobe.com

50. New York

Effective total state & local tax rate: 14.95%

Effective income tax rate: 3.8%
Effective real estate tax rate: 6.36%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: NA
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 14.95%
Road sign welcomes drivers to Illinois, the Land of Lincoln
Adobe Stock

51. Illinois

Effective total state & local tax rate: 16.87%

Effective income tax rate: 3.43%
Effective real estate tax rate: 8.24%
Effective vehicle property tax rate: NA
Effective sales & excise tax rate: 16.87%

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