Income Tax Comparison by State - All 50 States Ranked
Use the income tax comparison by state to rank 2025 wage-tax estimates for all 50 states plus DC by filing status and baseline.
State income-tax rankings
50 states + DC| Rank | State | State tax | Effective rate | Top rate | Savings vs CA |
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States with no modeled wage income tax
This list covers ordinary wages in the shared rules. Washington's separate capital-gains tax is outside this comparison.
What Is an Income Tax Comparison by State?
Income tax comparison by state is a planning view of annual state tax on ordinary wages. This page runs the same income and filing-status assumptions through the shared 2025 state rules, then ranks the resulting state tax, effective rate, top marginal rate, and difference against a selected baseline.
It is an estimate, not tax-return preparation. The model assumes a full-year resident and focuses on wage income. It does not allocate income for a midyear move, calculate withholding, or decide whether you qualify for a state-specific credit.
When this comparison helps
- Relocation screening: compare a prospective destination with the state you may leave before housing and pay decisions are final.
- Remote-work planning: separate the state-income-tax question from federal tax, payroll tax, and employer withholding questions.
- Offer comparison: treat the annual tax difference as one input when comparing compensation in different states.
- Retirement location review: start with wage treatment, then investigate retirement and investment-income rules separately.
Use the ranking to narrow a question, not to settle it by itself. A destination with a lower modeled state bill may offer a different salary, housing market, insurance cost, or local tax structure. If you are considering a move, run the same income through several likely states, save the assumptions, and then check the state agency's residency and income definitions.
For a focused estimate in one jurisdiction, State Tax Calculator provides a state-level view before you compare several destinations.
When the question is take-home pay rather than annual state tax alone, Paycheck Tax Calculator adds paycheck and withholding context.
How the Calculator Works
Every row receives the same annual wages and filing status. The engine selects that state's income base, applies its 2025 brackets or flat rate, subtracts modeled deductions and exemptions, applies eligible credits and special computations, and returns comparable outputs.
Variables
- W
- Annual ordinary wage income in USD.
- F
- Single, married filing jointly, or head of household.
- B
- Selected baseline state's returned state tax.
Worked example: $100,000 single filer in Pennsylvania
Using the shared flat-rate rule, $100,000 × 3.07% = $3,070. The displayed effective rate is $3,070 ÷ $100,000, or 3.07%. This is the modeled annual state amount before local taxes or taxpayer-specific adjustments.
A marginal rate applies only to the slice of income in its bracket. The effective rate divides the full modeled state tax by gross wages, so it is usually lower than the top marginal rate. A zero-income result has a zero effective rate rather than a division error.
The table does not average rates from a national chart. It calls the state rule for each row, which matters when a state uses a flat rate but still has exemptions, a federal-deduction starting point, or a credit. Read the notes attached to rows with special treatment, and compare both dollars and percentages before drawing a conclusion about a destination.
The IRS 2025 inflation-adjustment guidance lists standard deductions of $15,750 for single filers, $31,500 for married couples filing jointly, and $23,625 for heads of household. The shared state rules use those federal values only where a state rule specifies that income base.
If you want a smaller side-by-side set of destinations, State Tax Comparison Calculator complements this all-jurisdiction ranking.
Key State Income-Tax Concepts
These terms explain why a state can have a high published top rate but a different annual result for a particular household.
Progressive brackets
Income is divided into layers, with each layer taxed at its own rate. Crossing a threshold does not apply the highest rate to every dollar.
Flat-rate system
One stated rate applies to the modeled taxable base, although exemptions, credits, or a different starting base can still change the bill.
Effective versus marginal rate
The effective rate is actual modeled tax divided by wages. The top marginal rate is the highest schedule rate, not the average rate on the whole amount.
No wage-income tax
A zero row means the shared rules model no tax on ordinary wages. It does not mean the state has no sales, property, local, or investment-related taxes.
The Tax Foundation's 2025 state individual income-tax table distinguishes graduated and flat-rate systems and identifies states with no individual income tax. The table here keeps that distinction visible through the tax, effective-rate, and top-rate columns.
Use the California Tax Calculator when California's brackets and state-specific assumptions need a closer review.
How to Use This Calculator
Use a consistent income assumption when comparing destinations. Change one input at a time so the movement in the table has an identifiable cause.
This income tax comparison by state is most useful when you hold income and filing status constant while testing one destination against another.
- 1Enter annual wages. Use ordinary annual wage income before the deductions represented by the rule table.
- 2Choose filing status. Select single, married filing jointly, or head of household.
- 3Select a baseline. Choose the state used in the savings column.
- 4Choose the ranking. Sort by annual tax, effective rate, top rate, or state name.
- 5Read the rows. Review the tax amount first, then rates and notes attached to special or excluded rules.
- 6Check the scope. Use the result for screening and confirm residency and local-tax details with official guidance.
For a detailed New York scenario after screening the rankings, New York Tax Calculator separates state assumptions from this national table.
Benefits of a Ranked State-Tax View
The table is useful when a decision needs a comparable annual number rather than a list of published rates.
- One consistent scenario: the same wages and filing status run through every row.
- Rate context beside dollars: tax, effective rate, and top rate appear together.
- Baseline differences: a selected state gives the savings column a concrete reference.
- Filing-status sensitivity: switching status shows how schedules and deductions alter the comparison.
- Special-rule notes: rows can carry notes about local taxes, capital-gains exclusions, or schedule fallbacks.
- Decision-ready scope: the wage boundary keeps the state-income-tax question separate from broader cost-of-living analysis.
A lower state-income-tax row is not automatically a lower-cost place to live. Pair this output with housing, insurance, sales tax, property tax, and salary differences before accepting an offer or planning a move.
Use this income tax comparison by state as the state-income-tax part of that review, not as a complete household budget.
Factors That Affect Results
Several inputs and policy choices shape a state result. These are the largest sources of movement in the ranking.
Annual wage income
Progressive schedules can move into higher layers as income rises; flat schedules change more linearly unless a threshold applies.
Filing status
Married and head-of-household schedules can use different brackets, deductions, exemptions, or a documented fallback.
Deduction and credit path
A state's starting base and modeled standard deduction or exemption change the taxable amount before rates are applied.
Local and other taxes
City, county, sales, property, capital-gains, and payroll taxes can change the total cost beyond this state wage-tax screen.
Limitations to keep in view
- This is a wage-income estimate for a full-year resident, not tax-return preparation. It does not calculate filing obligations, withholding, estimated payments, or residency allocation for a move during the year.
- The comparison excludes local income taxes, itemized deductions, taxpayer-specific credits, non-wage income, and every state-specific return nuance. Confirm a decision with the relevant revenue department or a qualified tax professional.
The Tax Foundation reported that 39 states began 2025 with notable tax changes, including nine states that cut individual income taxes. This is why the page names its tax year and why a later-year result should not be assumed from this one.
To add a major housing-cost dimension to the income-tax screen, compare the result with Property Tax Comparison by State.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does this 50-state ranking order states from lowest to highest income tax?
By default, the ranking sorts all 50 states plus DC by modeled annual state wage tax from lowest ($0 in no-income-tax states) to highest for your exact salary and filing status, rather than relying only on top statutory bracket rates.
Why can a flat-tax state rank higher than a progressive-bracket state at moderate salaries?
At lower and middle wage levels, a progressive state with wide lower brackets and a large standard deduction can produce a smaller effective tax bill than a flat-rate state that taxes income starting near the first dollar.
How does the baseline state comparison column calculate annual tax savings?
The savings column subtracts each destination state's modeled annual wage tax from the selected baseline state's tax for the same salary and filing status, showing whether moving would reduce or increase your state wage tax.
Why do nine states show $0 at the top of the wage-income ranking?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not levy a state-level individual tax on ordinary wage income under the shared 2025 rules, placing them tied at $0.
How does switching between Single and Married Filing Jointly change state rankings?
Some states double bracket widths and standard deductions for joint filers, while others do not. Changing filing status recalculates every row using each state's specific joint or head-of-household schedule.
What other taxes should be checked alongside state income tax rankings?
State income tax is only one piece of total tax burden. States with zero or low wage taxes often rely more heavily on residential property taxes, state and local sales taxes, or municipal wage taxes.