--- title: Want to Pay Lower Taxes? Here's Where You Should Move description: 'According to a new report from WalletHub, the states with the lowest tax burdens on the middle class include Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming. The states with the heaviest tax burdens on the middle class: New York, Illinois, Arkansas, Hawaii, and Maryland.' authors: - name: Kara Brandeisky url: https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 76 covers: - Taxes - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Technology social: - https://x.com/karabrandeisky former_staff: true published: '2015-03-23T15:22:37.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T05:33:23.000Z' section: Taxes tags: - Alaska - income tax - New York - property tax - sales tax - tax burden - Taxes - WalletHub word_count: 312 canonical: https://money.com/states-tax-burden/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Downtown, Juneau, Alaska](https://img.money.com/2015/03/150323_ff_lowtaxesstate.jpg?crop=0px%2C549px%2C5256px%2C2957px&quality=85) *Juneau, Alaska* If you want to keep a bigger portion of your paycheck next year, pick up and head west. According to a [new report from WalletHub](http://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-to-be-rich-poor-from-a-tax-perspective/11257/), the states with the lowest tax burdens on the middle class include Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming. The states with the heaviest tax burdens on the middle class: New York, Illinois, Arkansas, Hawaii, and Maryland. In fact, you'll pay the fewest taxes in Alaska whether you're rich, poor, or somewhere in the middle. Altogether, low earners pay an average of 5.4% of their income in total taxes (including sales taxes, property taxes, and income taxes), middle earners pay an average of 4.5%, and high earners pay an average of just 3.4%. Compare that to New York state, where households earning $50,000 pay an average of 12.4% of income in taxes. WalletHub found that New York state was the worst state for middle and high earners and the eighth worst for low earners. Here are the full rankings. **The five states where middle earners (households making $50,000) pay the least:** 1. Alaska 2. Delaware 3. Nevada 4. Montana 5. Wyoming **The five states where middle earners (households making $50,000) pay the most:** 1. New York 2. Illinois 3. Arkansas 4. Hawaii 5. Maryland **The five states where high earners (households making $150,000) pay the least:** 1. Alaska 2. Wyoming 3. Nevada 4. Tennessee 5. South Dakota **The five states where high earners (households making $150,000) pay the most:** 1. New York 2. Connecticut 3. Maryland 4. New Jersey 5. Minnesota **The five states where low-income earners (households making $25,000) pay the least:** 1. Alaska 2. Delaware 3. Montana 4. Nevada 5. South Carolina **The five states where low-income earners (households making $25,000) pay the most:** 1. Washington 2. Hawaii 3. Illinois 4. Arizona 5. Ohio Read the [full WalletHub report](http://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-to-be-rich-poor-from-a-tax-perspective/11257/) here. **For answers to your tax questions, check out Money's [2015 Tax Guide](https://money.com/topic/tax-guide/ "Money’s 2015 Tax Guide"):** 11 Smart Ways to Use Your Tax Refund [Don't Make These 8 Classic Tax Filing Fails](https://money.com/tax-filing-mistakes/ "Don’t Make These 8 Classic Tax-Filing Fails") Why the IRS Probably Won't Audit Your Return This Year ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/states-tax-burden/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Taxes", "item": "https://money.com/taxes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tax Breaks", "item": "https://money.com/tax-breaks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Want to Pay Lower Taxes? 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