How tax-friendly is your state?
Local and state taxes can have a big impact on your take-home pay.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- There are countless reasons why you choose to live where you live. The climate, the schools and the job opportunities are just a few. But state and local taxes can make a big difference.
The Tax Foundation, a policy research group, estimated the average taxpayer's total state and local tax burden for 2005 in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. That burden reflects what residents pay in state and local income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, luxury taxes and fuel taxes, among others. States below are ranked from least to most tax friendly. (Read more about this table below.)
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| State-Local Tax Burdens, Calendar Year 2005 |
| Rank |
State |
State/Local taxes as
% of per capita income |
| |
U.S. average |
10.10% |
| 1 |
Maine |
13.00% |
| 2 |
New York |
12.00% |
| 3 |
Hawaii |
11.50% |
| 4 |
Rhode Island |
11.40% |
| 5 |
Wisconsin |
11.40% |
| 6 |
Vermont |
11.10% |
| 7 |
Ohio |
11.00% |
| 8 |
Nebraska |
10.90% |
| 9 |
Utah |
10.90% |
| 10 |
Minnesota |
10.70% |
| 11 |
Arkansas |
10.50% |
| 12 |
Connecticut |
10.50% |
| 13 |
West Virginia |
10.50% |
| 14 |
New Jersey |
10.40% |
| 15 |
Kansas |
10.40% |
| 16 |
Louisiana |
10.40% |
| 17 |
Maryland |
10.30% |
| 18 |
Indiana |
10.30% |
| 19 |
Kentucky |
10.30% |
| 20 |
California |
10.30% |
| 21 |
Arizona |
10.20% |
| 22 |
Michigan |
10.10% |
| 23 |
Wyoming |
10.10% |
| 24 |
Washington |
10.00% |
| 25 |
Iowa |
10.00% |
| 26 |
Mississippi |
10.00% |
| 27 |
Idaho |
10.00% |
| 28 |
North Carolina |
10.00% |
| 29 |
New Mexico |
9.90% |
| 30 |
Illinois |
9.80% |
| 31 |
Georgia |
9.80% |
| 32 |
Massachusetts |
9.80% |
| 33 |
South Carolina |
9.70% |
| 34 |
Virginia |
9.70% |
| 35 |
Pennsylvania |
9.70% |
| 36 |
Oregon |
9.60% |
| 37 |
Colorado |
9.50% |
| 38 |
Nevada |
9.50% |
| 39 |
Montana |
9.50% |
| 40 |
Oklahoma |
9.40% |
| 41 |
Missouri |
9.40% |
| 42 |
North Dakota |
9.40% |
| 43 |
Texas |
9.30% |
| 44 |
Florida |
9.20% |
| 45 |
South Dakota |
8.80% |
| 46 |
Alabama |
8.70% |
| 47 |
Tennessee |
8.30% |
| 48 |
Delaware |
8.00% |
| 49 |
New Hampshire |
7.40% |
| 50 |
Alaska |
6.40% |
| |
District of Columbia |
12.20% |
Source: Tax Foundation, 2005
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The state/local tax burden reflects what a state and its local governments collect as a percentage of per capita income. So, for example, with a state/local tax burden of 10.4 percent, the state of New Jersey and its local governments get about a tenth of what its residents make per capita.
Of course, if you live in the Garden State your personal tax burden may be higher or lower. Much will depend, as it would in any state, on whether you own your home, where in the state you live, how much you make and the source of your income. 
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