10 States Where People Will Pay The Most Taxes in 2024

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The state you live in can make a big difference in how much you pay in taxes each year. On top of federal taxes, states get to determine their own tax rates for income taxes, property taxes and sales taxes.

Out of all 50 states, 42 plus Washington D.C. have individual income taxes, according to World Population Review. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming don’t have an income tax. New Hampshire doesn’t tax income from wages and salaries but taxes dividends and interest, a form of unearned income. 

Thirty-two states use graduated-rate tax brackets, where rates are based on taxable income and filing status, whereas ten states use a single-rate tax structure. California has the highest individual income tax rate, ranging from 1%-13.30%.

There’s also a sales tax, which is a tax levied on the sales of certain goods and services. Sales tax is charged at the point of sale and collected by the retailer, who passes it to the government. According to World Population Review, state sales taxes range from 0%-7.25%, but most range between 4%-7%. Some states even have local jurisdictions that impose a local sales tax. Again, California has the highest state sales tax rate of 7.25%.

Every state has property taxes, calculated annually and determined by multiplying the property tax rate by the property’s current market value. Thirty states have property tax rates below 1%, but New Jersey has the highest property tax rate at 2.47%.

World Population Review ranked each state’s overall tax burden by calculating state and local taxes paid by residents divided by that state’s share of the net national product. Here are the results.

1. New York (15.9%)
2. Connecticut (15.4%)
3. Hawaii (14.1%)
4. Vermont (13.5%)
5. California (13.5%)
6. New Jersey (13.2%)
7. Illinois (12.9%)
8. Virginia (12.5%)
9. Delaware (12.4%)
10. Maine (12.4%)

Taxes keep rising, but some taxpayers could get some relief this year. Fourteen states controlled by Republican lawmakers will see lower individual tax rates enacted in 2024, per an analysis from the Tax Foundation, CBS MoneyWatch reported. This reduction is the continuation of “tax cut fever,” coined by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Lowering taxes could make a state more competitive by attracting remote workers and businesses, Manish Bhatt, a senior policy analyst with the Center for State Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation, explained to CBS MoneyWatch. However, tax-cutting states could face longer-term issues if a recession hits, impacting essential services such as education and road maintenance.

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