The Average Refund Check in Every State

The vast majority of Americans don’t enjoy filing their taxes. Even those for whom it’s a relatively painless process, it still represents a chore. However, no matter how much you hate the process of putting your return together, you probably love the day the money from your refund hits your bank account.

While plenty of personal finance experts insist that you adjust your withholding so that you can earn interest on it throughout the year, many Americans still seem to prefer receiving it as one lump sum shortly after they file. And certainly, if that ensures the cash gets invested or put in savings, it’s probably worth foregoing that extra little bit of interest you can earn by reducing your withholding.

So, which Americans are getting the most back on their tax returns? To get to the bottom of that question, GOBankingRates compiled a list of all 50 states ranked by the size of the average return people received for the 2018 tax year — the taxes you filed at the beginning of 2019. The study took the total amount of money issued as returns in each state and divided it by the number of returns with a refund to come up with the average return. See where your state ranks among the rest of the country in terms of getting that fat check from Uncle Sam.

Last updated: Feb. 28, 2020

Maine

Number of refunds issued: 517,623
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,217,035,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,351.20

Montana

Number of refunds issued: 379,742
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $899,058,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,367.55

Vermont

Number of refunds issued: 256,895
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $615,705,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,396.72

Oregon

Number of refunds issued: 1,474,133
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,580,389,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,428.81

Wisconsin

Number of refunds issued: 2,255,666
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,482,602,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,430.59

Idaho

Number of refunds issued: 579,653
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,419,883,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,449.54

Minnesota

Number of refunds issued: 2,135,587
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,405,175,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,531.00

Ohio

Number of refunds issued: 4,600,787
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $11,680,478,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,538.80

Hawaii

Number of refunds issued: 543,542
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,393,466,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,563.68

South Carolina

Number of refunds issued: 1,739,102
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,458,568,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,563.72

Michigan

Number of refunds issued: 3,811,111
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $9,879,028,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,592.16

South Dakota

Number of refunds issued: 326,817
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $849,893,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,600.52

New Hampshire

Number of refunds issued: 564,846
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,469,920,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,602.34

Missouri

Number of refunds issued: 2,247,910
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,867,798,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,610.33

Indiana

Number of refunds issued: 2,607,363
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,808,159,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,611.13

Nebraska

Number of refunds issued: 721,141
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,885,048,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,613.98

New Mexico

Number of refunds issued: 730,106
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,919,274,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,628.76

Rhode Island

Number of refunds issued: 439,827
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,158,190,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,633.29

Colorado

Number of refunds issued: 2,063,579
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,438,350,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,635.40

Iowa

Number of refunds issued: 1,151,919
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,036,222,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,635.79

West Virginia

Number of refunds issued: 646,527
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,704,160,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,635.87

North Carolina

Number of refunds issued: 3,624,400
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $9,571,113,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,640.74

Kentucky

Number of refunds issued: 1,600,941
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,244,777,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,651.43

Pennsylvania

Number of refunds issued: 5,082,924
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $13,528,841,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,661.63

Kansas

Number of refunds issued: 1,051,660
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,799,204,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,661.70

Utah

Number of refunds issued: 1,068,659
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,855,020,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,671.59

Arizona

Number of refunds issued: 2,294,814
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,194,947,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,699.54

Washington

Number of refunds issued: 2,814,953
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $7,620,230,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,707.05

Tennessee

Number of refunds issued: 2,493,893
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,835,526,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,740.91

Arkansas

Number of refunds issued: 1,001,686
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,747,310,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,742.69

Delaware

Number of refunds issued: 369,193
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,023,909,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,773.37

Virginia

Number of refunds issued: 3,147,687
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $8,757,196,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,782.11

Nevada

Number of refunds issued: 1,141,738
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,195,363,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,798.68

Alabama

Number of refunds issued: 1,658,296
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,659,859,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,810.03

Alaska

Number of refunds issued: 276,884
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $782,426,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,825.83

North Dakota

Number of refunds issued: 281,413
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $800,157,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,843.35

Maryland

Number of refunds issued: 2,337,922
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,663,208,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,850.06

Georgia

Number of refunds issued: 3,671,508
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $10,545,449,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,872.24

Massachusetts

Number of refunds issued: 2,732,838
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $7,903,739,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,892.14

Illinois

Number of refunds issued: 5,011,066
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $14,587,621,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,911.08

Mississippi

Number of refunds issued: 1,024,077
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,994,160,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,923.76

Oklahoma

Number of refunds issued: 1,307,189
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,845,652,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,941.93

Wyoming

Number of refunds issued: 217,046
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $641,594,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,956.03

California

Number of refunds issued: 13,857,382
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $41,196,554,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,972.90

Florida

Number of refunds issued: 8,061,441
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $24,024,970,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,980.23

Louisiana

Number of refunds issued: 1,617,469
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,914,807,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,038.58

New Jersey

Number of refunds issued: 3,522,238
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $10,776,278,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,059.50

New York

Number of refunds issued: 7,801,349
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $24,303,034,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,115.23

Connecticut

Number of refunds issued: 1,405,442
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,385,473,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,120.35

Texas

Number of refunds issued: 10,327,372
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $32,941,228,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,189.70

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: GOBankingRates, using the Internal Revenue Service’s Statistics of Income Tax Stats for the fiscal year 2018, found the average refund check in every state. The study first found the total number of individual income and employment tax refunds issued in each state. GOBankingRates then found the total dollar amount issued for those refunds. This second figure was divided by the first to produce the only ranking factor for each state: average refund issued per return (this figure was not rounded). All data was collected on and up to date as of Feb. 5, 2020.