Study reveals which states have the highest and lowest income tax burdens - See where your state ranks

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Americans across the country are filing their income taxes and depending on where you live, your state’s effective tax rate determines how much of your annual income is taxed. 

Utilizing data from the U.S. Census Bureau and updated tax rates, FinanceBuzz found the states where individuals and couples will pay the highest and lowest percentage of their annual income in taxes in the 2025 tax year.

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Average tax burden in every state for individual filers

The study found residents of Oregon who file as individual filers pay the highest percentage of their income in taxes at 24.41%, while Florida residents filing as individuals pay the lowest percentage of their income in taxes, 15.74%. 

Individual tax filers in Massachusetts face a 23.62% total effective tax rate, which is the second-highest in the country, which FinanceBuzz says is primarily due to the state having the highest individual median income of any state at $76,732, which puts many residents in tax brackets where a more significant portion of their income is taxed at higher rates. As a result, Massachusetts residents owe more in federal taxes than residents of any other state and results in an effective federal tax rate of 18.80%, nearly half a percent higher than that of any other state.

Residents in Florida enjoy the lowest effective tax rate, at 15.74%, followed closely by Nevada at 15.77%, Tennessee at 15.80%, and South Dakota at 15.82%. 

These states are among nine that do not charge state-level income taxes and a major factor contributing to their low overall tax rates. Alaska, New Hampshire, Washington, and Wyoming also do not charge state-level income taxes. To make up the revenue of having no-income tax, the states typically have higher sales tax rates and property taxes to pay for services such as fire and police.  Living in states with no income tax is beneficial for high earners and retirees, but they may have higher overall costs of living.

By the numbers:

Average tax burden in every state for couples filing jointly

When it comes to filing jointly, couples in Oregon who file jointly pay the highest rate at 23.96%, while couples living in Tennessee filing jointly pay the least, 15.68%.  The high state-level tax rates in Oregon is the primary culprit, as the state's 7.79% state tax burden for married filers is more than two percentage points higher than anywhere else in the country.  Delaware is second at 5.42%.

As is the case with individual filers, states with no state-level income tax have the smallest average tax burden for couples filing a joint return with Tennessee having the lowest effective tax burden in the country at 15.68%, just slightly lower than Wyoming at 15.75%.

Florida at 15.84%, South Dakota at 15.85%, and Nevada at 15.99% round out the list of the five states with the lowest effective tax rates for couples.

By the numbers: