50 States of Taxes: Where Americans Pay the Most — and the Least

This video is part of our Kite & Key Shorts series—easy to understand...but hard to forget.

Looking for a lower cost of living?

If so, you’re not alone.

Many Americans want to move to states with lower taxes.

But because there are so many different types of taxes at the state and local level …

… figuring out which states have the lowest overall tax burden can be harder than it seems.

A 2022 Tax Foundation report added all the various taxes up to figure out the answer.

The 5 highest tax states:ⁱ

#5 — California (13.5%)

#4 — Vermont (13.6%)

#3 — Hawaii (14.1%)

#2 — Connecticut (15.4%)

#1 — New York (15.9%)

As for the 5 lowest tax states?

#5 — Michigan (8.6%)

#4 — South Dakota (8.4%)

#3 — Tennessee (7.6%)

#2 — Wyoming (7.5%)

#1 — Alaska (4.6%)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

1. Because there are so many state and local taxes, the best way to compare states is by their total overall tax burden.
2. In 2022, the state with the highest tax burden was New York.
3. In 2022, the state with the lowest tax burden was Alaska.