TakeHomeTax

Best States for Median Income Earners (2026)

Ranked by take-home pay on each state's own median income, adjusted for cost of living.

#1 State
New Hampshire
$62,241 take-home
States Ranked
50
Median: Nevada
Spread
$7,962
#1 vs #50 difference

Key Takeaways

This ranking covers 50 states, with New Hampshire at the top ($62,241 take-home on $100K) and Hawaii at the bottom ($54,279). The spread between best and worst is $7,962/year.

The ranking is influenced by state income tax rates, tax structure (flat vs graduated), local taxes, and in cost-adjusted rankings, the cost of living index. States with no income tax generally rank highest for raw take-home pay, but cost adjustments can shuffle the order significantly.

Full Rankings

#StateTax RateTypeTake-HomeMonthlyEff. RateCost IndexCost-Adj.
1New Hampshire0%None$62,241$5,18718.1%108$57,631
2Texas0%None$51,997$4,33316.1%93$55,911
3Maryland5.75%Grad.$62,167$5,18124.2%112$55,506
4Washington0%None$60,834$5,07017.8%110$55,304
5Virginia5.75%Grad.$56,736$4,72821.2%103$55,083
6Illinois4.95%Flat$51,190$4,26621.2%93$55,043
7Connecticut6.99%Grad.$60,104$5,00922.9%111$54,148
8Utah4.65%Flat$53,451$4,45421.4%99$53,991
9North Dakota1.95%Grad.$49,630$4,13617.3%92$53,945
10Wyoming0%None$50,390$4,19916.0%94$53,606
11South Dakota0%None$48,783$4,06515.9%92$53,025
12Massachusetts5%Flat$62,362$5,19723.9%118$52,849
13New Jersey10.75%Grad.$60,732$5,06125.9%115$52,811
14Minnesota9.85%Grad.$52,259$4,35523.1%99$52,787
15Iowa3.8%Flat$46,579$3,88219.7%89$52,336
16Nebraska4.55%Grad.$47,068$3,92218.8%91$51,723
17Colorado4.4%Flat$53,621$4,46821.1%105$51,068
18Wisconsin7.65%Grad.$47,407$3,95121.0%93$50,975
19Pennsylvania3.07%Flat$49,164$4,09720.7%98$50,167
20Kansas5.7%Grad.$45,101$3,75819.5%90$50,112
21Ohio2.75%Flat$44,796$3,73320.0%90$49,773
22Tennessee0%None$44,766$3,73015.5%90$49,739
23Missouri4.8%Grad.$43,832$3,65320.3%89$49,249
24Michigan4.25%Flat$44,702$3,72521.6%91$49,123
25Arizona2.5%Flat$47,333$3,94418.4%97$48,797
26Nevada0%None$48,783$4,06515.9%101$48,300
27Florida0%None$47,980$3,99815.8%100$47,980
28Indiana2.95%Flat$43,166$3,59720.1%90$47,962
29Rhode Island5.99%Grad.$50,348$4,19620.1%105$47,950
30Oklahoma4.75%Grad.$41,584$3,46518.5%87$47,798
31Georgia5.19%Flat$44,270$3,68920.9%93$47,602
32Delaware6.6%Grad.$48,407$4,03421.9%102$47,458
33Alabama5%Grad.$41,492$3,45820.2%88$47,150
34Arkansas3.9%Grad.$39,531$3,29417.6%86$45,967
35Idaho5.3%Flat$43,458$3,62121.0%95$45,745
36Montana5.65%Grad.$44,353$3,69619.4%97$45,724
37North Carolina3.99%Flat$43,414$3,61819.6%95$45,699
38Maine7.15%Grad.$44,573$3,71420.4%98$45,483
39Vermont8.75%Grad.$46,978$3,91521.7%105$44,740
40South Carolina6.4%Grad.$41,037$3,42019.5%92$44,605
41Kentucky3.5%Flat$39,855$3,32120.3%90$44,283
42Louisiana4.25%Grad.$40,198$3,35018.0%91$44,173
43New Mexico5.9%Grad.$39,672$3,30619.0%91$43,596
44Mississippi5%Grad.$36,104$3,00917.9%83$43,499
45West Virginia5.12%Grad.$36,070$3,00618.0%83$43,457
46Oregon9.9%Grad.$47,801$3,98324.1%110$43,456
47Alaska0%None$54,408$4,53416.3%127$42,841
48New York10.9%Grad.$50,775$4,23125.3%125$40,620
49California13.3%Grad.$56,905$4,74227.0%142$40,074
50Hawaii11%Grad.$54,279$4,52324.6%192$28,270
Pro Tip
Use the take-home calculator to model your specific salary and filing status. Rankings based on $100K may look different at your actual income level, especially in graduated-tax states.

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