Guide
Nine states take nothing from wages. Oregon takes $6,021 from a $75,000 single filer. Here is the real spread in 2026.
Two job offers at the same salary are not the same offer. Nine states take no income tax from wages at all; Oregon takes just over $6,000 from a $75,000 single filer. That is a $500-a-month swing on identical pay, before anyone mentions rent.
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do not tax wage income in 2026. Two of those deserve an asterisk: New Hampshire and Washington both tax certain investment or capital gains income, just not your paycheck.
Single filer, state income tax only, using each state's own standard deduction where it has one.
| State | Structure | Tax at $75,000 | Tax at $150,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | No income tax | $0 | $0 |
| North Dakota | Graduated | $203 | $1,666 |
| Arizona | Flat 2.5% | $1,875 | $3,750 |
| Pennsylvania | Flat 3.07% | $2,303 | $4,605 |
| California | Graduated | $3,017 | $9,977 |
| Colorado | Flat 4.4% | $3,300 | $6,600 |
| New York | Graduated | $3,387 | $7,478 |
| Minnesota | Graduated | $3,637 | $9,035 |
| Illinois | Flat 4.95% | $3,713 | $7,425 |
| Oregon | Graduated | $6,021 | $12,840 |
2026 rates and standard deductions. Excludes local income taxes, credits and exemptions.
Look at California and Illinois. At $75,000, Illinois takes $700 more than California — the opposite of the reputation. At $150,000 California takes $2,552 more. A flat tax is comparatively heavy on middle incomes and light at the top; a graduated one does the reverse. Which state is "high-tax" depends entirely on where you sit on the ladder.
Fifteen states use a single flat rate in 2026, twenty-seven use graduated brackets, and nine tax no wage income. Comparing headline top rates tells you almost nothing about what you will actually pay — the standard deduction and the width of the lower brackets usually matter more.
Local income tax. New York City adds roughly 3–4% on top of the state figure. Many Ohio and Pennsylvania municipalities levy 1–3%. Maryland counties add 2.25–3.2%.
Everything that is not income tax. No-income-tax states raise money elsewhere. Texas and New Hampshire have some of the highest effective property tax rates in the country; Washington and Tennessee lean on sales tax. A renter and a homeowner in the same state can face very different total bills.
Where you work versus where you live. Most states tax non-residents on income earned inside their borders, with a credit from your home state. Remote workers can end up filing in two states. A handful of state pairs have reciprocity agreements that avoid this — check before assuming.
Convert everything to monthly take-home rather than comparing salaries. A $95,000 offer in Oregon and an $88,000 offer in Washington are closer than they look, and once housing enters the comparison the ranking can flip again. Run both through the take-home pay calculator, then put the resulting numbers into the budget calculator with each city's actual rent.
Every state also has its own page here with 2026 brackets and a worked example — California, Texas, New York, Oregon and the rest.