Take-Home Pay by State: Where a Salary Stretches Furthest in 2026

Same job, same salary, different state — different paycheck. Federal taxes are identical everywhere, so the entire gap comes from state (and sometimes local) income taxes. Computed with 2026 rates on a $75,000 single-filer salary, the spread from the friendliest states to the steepest is about $5,989 a year.

The top of the ranking is the nine no-income-tax states in a tie. The bottom is dominated by Oregon and Hawaii — and note that this table excludes local income taxes, which push New York City, Philadelphia, and much of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Maryland lower than their state line suggests.

Full ranking: take-home on $75,000 (2026)

Single filer, standard deduction, no pre-tax benefits, dependents, credits or local taxes. Each state name links to its calculator, where you can run your own salary.

The ranking shifts with income

Flat-tax states punish low incomes relatively more; graduated states punish high incomes. At $40,000 the bottom of the ranking is dominated by flat states with small deductions; at $200,000, California and New York fall toward the bottom as their upper brackets engage. The table shows how a few states move across three income levels.

Local income taxes: the hidden second ranking

About a dozen states let cities or counties tax wages, and in several the local line is larger than the state line. Maryland's counties add 2.25–3.2% to every resident's bill. Ohio's municipalities commonly charge 2–2.5% where the state charges 2.75% on income above $26,050. Indiana's county taxes (0.5–3%) often exceed its 2.95% state rate. New York City's 3.1–3.9% resident tax turns New York from a mid-pack state for middle incomes into one of the most expensive. Philadelphia's 3.75% wage tax does the same to Pennsylvania's otherwise low flat rate. If you live in one of these places, add the local rate to the table above before comparing.

Scheduled changes that will reshuffle the list

Several states have rate cuts already written into law: Mississippi's flat rate falls to 3.75% in 2027 and 3.5% in 2028 on a path toward elimination; Nebraska's top rate drops to 3.99% by 2027; Montana's to 5.4% in 2027; Georgia and Indiana continue stepping down; Kentucky and North Carolina have further cuts tied to revenue triggers. The Southeast and Plains are converging on low flat rates, while the Northeast and West Coast hold graduated structures — a divergence that will make the top and bottom of this ranking more stable, and the middle more crowded, over the next few years.

Take-home for a married couple: the ranking changes

Most state calculators, including ours, use single-filer parameters — the cleanest comparison. For married couples filing jointly, states differ in how they treat the second earner: some double every bracket threshold (no marriage penalty), some don't (a penalty when both spouses earn), and community-property states split income between spouses in ways that can help. At the federal level the 2026 joint brackets are exactly double the single ones through the 32% bracket, so a couple with two equal $75,000 incomes pays the same federal tax as two singles. The state results are messier, and the compare tool with 'married' selected is the fastest way to see your state's treatment.

Methodology and limits

Each state's figure uses its 2026 single-filer brackets and standard deduction or personal exemption as published, applied to gross salary; federal tax uses the $16,100 standard deduction and 2026 brackets; FICA is 7.65%. Excluded: local income taxes, dependents, credits (including state EITCs and child credits that materially help lower incomes), itemized deductions, and state-specific payroll deductions such as California's SDI or Washington's WA Cares premium. States with credit-based systems (Utah, Oregon's federal tax subtraction) are approximated. The intent is a consistent apples-to-apples ranking of the state income tax itself; your personal figure will differ.

How to read this if you're comparing states

Income tax is one lever of three. Sales tax flips several rankings — Tennessee and Washington win on paycheck but charge 9.6%+ at the register, while Oregon takes more from wages and nothing at checkout. Property taxes flip others: Texas and New Hampshire homeowners pay some of the nation's highest rates. For a true comparison, pair this table with our sales tax by state pages and your target county's property tax rate.

Also remember that state brackets are mostly not indexed the way federal brackets are, and several states have scheduled cuts (Mississippi, Nebraska, Montana, Indiana) — a border-line comparison made today can shift by next year.