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Finance Medium #state-tax#tax-burden

State Tax Comparison

Income, sales, property. State tax burden varies by 2-3x across states.

A free, animated state tax comparison you can read here or embed on any website, from Scrollchart.

State Tax Comparison

State Tax Burden by ComponentTotal state-and-local taxes as % of income (2023); sorted low to high0%2%4%6%8%10%12%14%Total state-and-local tax burden (% of personal income)Florida7.6%Nevada7.7%Colorado8.1%Arizona8.5%Texas8.9%Georgia9.1%Washington9.5%Ohio9.5%Wyoming9.6%Minnesota10.3%California11.2%Illinois11.5%New Jersey12.1%New York12.5%Income taxSales / exciseProperty taxNo-income-tax statesWY, FL, TX, NV, WAlean on sales/propertyHighest burdenNJ: 12.1% (property-led)NY: 12.5% (income-led)2x-3x spread across statesNo-income-tax states still collect 7-9% via sales and property taxes; NJ and NY top 12%

A US map shaded by total state-and-local tax burden, with bar overlays for income, sales, and property components.

Good for

  • State relocation tax-planning articles comparing overall burden by income source
  • Personal-finance education on why "no income tax" does not equal low taxes
  • Policy explainers on the income vs. sales vs. property tax tradeoffs across states

Source & accuracy

This state tax comparison is an editorial illustration built to represent the concept accurately. Where it shows figures, they are typical or representative values chosen to make the relationship clear, not a single underlying dataset. The diagram and its explainer are reviewed and maintained centrally, and updated over time as understanding improves.

Three tax types vary dramatically by state

State tax burden combines income tax, sales tax, and property tax. Some states like Texas and Florida have no income tax but higher property taxes. Others like California have steep income tax but moderate property taxes. The total effective rate can vary by 2x or 3x depending on the state.

A household earning $100k in one state might owe $8,000 in state and local taxes, while the same income in another state costs $15,000 or more.

Migration and residence planning

Tax differences alone influence relocation decisions, especially for retirees, freelancers, and remote workers. Some states offer favorable tax treatment for retirement income or recent arrivals. Others tax capital gains or investment income at lower rates.

The complexity arises from establishing residency and avoiding dual-state taxation claims. Moving household items and spending more than half the year in the new state are common factors determining residency for tax purposes.

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Reference

What this is
A free, embeddable, animated state tax comparison for any website.
Who uses it
Personal-finance blogs.
How to embed
Copy one line of HTML. No signup. No watermark. Works in WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Substack, plain HTML.
File size
iframe embed, ~80 KB gzipped (loads on demand, does not block your page paint).
License
Free forever. Editorial explainer text included; updated centrally over time.
URL
scrollchart.com/diagram/state-tax-comparison

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Frequently asked questions

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