Why the Gap Between States Is So Wide
Nine states levy no income tax on wages at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. At the other end, California reaches 13.3%, Hawaii 11% and New York 10.9% before New York City adds its own surcharge.
Federal tax and FICA never vary, so every dollar of difference in the table above is state income tax. Before treating the left-hand column as free money, price the offset: Texas property taxes average 1.47% of assessed value and Tennessee has the highest average sales tax in the country. Our state-by-state ranking covers that trade in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert an hourly wage to an annual salary?
Multiply your hourly rate by the hours you work per week, then by 52. At 40 hours a week that is your rate times 2,080. A shortcut for full-time work is to double the hourly rate and add three zeros: $25 an hour is roughly $50,000 a year, and the exact figure is $52,000.
Why does the same hourly wage pay differently in each state?
Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare are identical in all 50 states. State income tax is the only variable, and it ranges from nothing at all in nine states to over 9% at the top end in California, Hawaii and Oregon. On a full-time wage that gap is worth thousands of dollars a year.
Looking for a salary instead?
If you are on a fixed salary rather than an hourly rate, these pages cover the common figures.
Paycheck calculators by state
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- District of Columbia
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