Tax burden composite, relative comparison only. Combined burden = top marginal income tax + effective property tax + state sales tax. Local taxes (NYC, OH municipal, PA EIT, county sales) are NOT included. This is a quick relative ranking. For policy-grade analysis, consult Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index. Last verified against Tax Foundation Jan 2025 data on 2026-04-19.
Most state-tax conversations start and stop at the income-tax line. That misses about half the picture. Texas brags about no income tax, then collects 1.68% of every home’s value every year. Tennessee charges no wage tax, then layers a 9.55% combined sales tax on every grocery run. The map below sums the three taxes any household actually pays (top marginal income, effective property, average state sales) so you can see the full burden in one color. It’s deliberately a quick composite, not the academically perfect effective rate (Tax Foundation does that better with income-share weighting). Click any state to open its full state-detail page with components broken down + state-specific edge cases + neighbor comparison; deeper tax guides exist for CA, FL, GA, IL, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TX.
The lowest combined burden (income + property + sales) sits among the no-income-tax states with low property taxes. Wyoming, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Alaska all run well under 8% combined. New Hampshire is the lowest of the income-tax-light states because it has no broad sales tax to offset the higher property burden.
California ranks highest by this composite (top income marginal 13.3% + property 0.71% + sales 7.25% ≈ 21.3%). New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii follow closely. The composite over-weights top marginal vs effective; Tax Foundation's effective-burden study uses income shares and ranks differently.
CalcFi's composite is a quick "where am I" sum of three rates, not the academically correct effective burden. Tax Foundation's methodology weights by income shares and includes corporate tax. Use this map for relative comparison; use Tax Foundation's annual State Business Tax Climate Index for policy-grade analysis.
No, only state-level rates. Local sales tax (often 1-3%) and city/county income tax (NYC, OH municipal, PA EIT) are not added. Add ~2-3% to combined burden in major metros for a closer real-world figure.
Reviewed by CalcFi Editorial · Last verified against Tax Foundation State Individual Income Tax Rates on 2026-04-19. Methodology + sources at /about/editorial.
FRED + BLS + Treasury · refreshed