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 much of my salary goes to tax?
For most US workers between 20% and 32% of gross pay, depending on income and state. Social Security and Medicare take a flat 7.65% from the first dollar. Federal income tax is progressive and rises with income. State income tax adds between 0% and about 10% on top.
Why is my actual paycheck different from these figures?
These pages compute annual tax liability divided across pay periods. Employers instead use the withholding method in IRS Publication 15-T, which estimates from each individual payment, so a real paystub differs by a few dollars. Tax credits, local city taxes, state disability contributions and pre-tax benefits are not included here either.
Paid by the hour instead?
If you are paid by the hour, these pages convert the common rates to annual take-home.
- $15 an hour
- $16 an hour
- $17 an hour
- $18 an hour
- $19 an hour
- $20 an hour
- $22 an hour
- $23 an hour
- $25 an hour
- $27 an hour
Paycheck calculators by state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming