Federal tax contributions by state: Which states pay the most?
- California maintains its lead in total federal tax contributions. Residents in the Golden State paid $312.8 billion in federal income taxes, representing nearly 15% of the national total.
- The District of Columbia carries the highest per capita tax burden. While it is not a state, D.C. residents contribute an average of $15,396 per adult, significantly higher than any individual state.
- Connecticut ranks first among states for per capita taxes and income percentage. Residents pay an average of $12,613 per adult, which accounts for 16.81% of their income — the highest tax-to-income ratio in the country.
- Mississippi has the lowest federal tax burden. The state records the lowest average federal tax contributions per resident, a figure largely tied to having the lowest average income in the U.S.
- Montana has seen the fastest-growing tax burden. Over the last five years, per capita taxes in Montana rose by 56.54%, though this was outpaced by a 58.16% increase in average state income.
Taxes are often a sore subject. Many people think they’re paying too much — and that others aren’t paying enough.
To some extent, this tension plays out between states. After all, states are in competition for federal resources, and there are debates about which states contribute the most to those resources.
To find out what the score really is, MoneyRates.com broke down federal tax revenue by state. This reveals the states that contribute the most federal taxes — and which chip in the least.
Obviously, some states have much larger populations than others, so MoneyRates.com looked at this analysis in a few different ways:
- Which state pays the most federal taxes in total
- Which state pays the most federal taxes per capita
- What states pay the most federal taxes as a percent of income
- What states have seen the biggest increase in their individual tax burdens
What follows are the results for each of those categories.
Summary: Which states pay the most federal taxes?
Here are the leaders in each of the four categories of federal taxes:
Most total individual federal taxes: California, $312.8 billion
Californians pay more federal income taxes overall than the residents of any other state. Their total tally of $312.8 billion is nearly 15% of the national total.
This isn’t a big surprise, since more than 30.5 million people age 18 or over live in California. That’s the largest adult population of any state, so it makes sense that they’d combine to pay the most total taxes.
Most individual federal taxes per adult resident: Connecticut, $12,613
People in Connecticut pay more federal taxes per adult than any other state, but it’s not all bad news. One reason they pay so much in taxes is that they have a higher average income than any other state.
It should be noted that while the District of Columbia is not a state, people who live there pay a higher average amount of tax than in any state. D.C. residents pay an average of $15,396 per adult. Since many of those residents are government employees, it’s nice to know that the people who are spending your tax dollars are also contributing a healthy share.
Most federal taxes as a percent of income: Connecticut, 16.81%
While high incomes are one reason Connecticut residents pay the most federal taxes per person, another reason is that they also pay the highest percentage of their incomes in federal taxes.
Here again, though, if the District of Columbia were a state, it would top all the others in this category. D.C. residents pay an average of 18% of their income in federal taxes.
Biggest increase in per capita taxes over the past 5 years: Montana, 56.54%
Residents of Montana have seen the biggest increase in their federal tax bills over the past five years. Still, they shouldn’t complain too much about seeing those tax bills climb by an average of 56.54%. Over the same time, average incomes in the state have grown at an even faster pace of 58.16%.
States that pay the most federal taxes in total
As you might expect, the list of states that pay the most federal taxes is dominated by high-population states. At the opposite end of the scale, the state that pays the least individual federal income tax is Vermont, which also has the second smallest adult population.
Here are the top 10 states by total Federal tax revenue:
1. California, $312.8 billion
2. Texas, $181.5 billion
3. Florida, $176 billion
4. New York, $168.6 billion
5. Illinois, $84.5 billion
6. New Jersey, $79.1 billion
7. Pennsylvania, $74 billion
8. Massachusetts, $68.8 billion
9. Washington, $61.5 billion
10. Virginia, $57.9 billion
Per capita federal tax revenue by state
While high-population states tend to pay the most federal taxes in total, this doesn’t reflect the experience at the individual level. For that, it’s helpful to look at the average tax revenue paid per adult resident.
This category is largely linked to income — the more money you make, the more taxes you’re likely to pay. One reason Mississippi pays the least federal taxes per capita is that they also have the lowest average income.
As noted earlier, the District of Columbia beats any state based on this measure, with an average of $15,396 in federal taxes per capita.
Here are the top 10 states for this category:
1. Connecticut, $12,613
2. Massachusetts, $12,180
3. New Jersey, $10,873
4. New York, $10,742
5. California, $10,245
6. Washington, $10,010
7. Florida, $9,802
8. New Hampshire, $9,649
9. Wyoming, $9,601
10. Colorado, $9,199
States that contribute the most federal taxes as a percent of income
It’s not the worst problem in the world to pay more taxes if it also means you’re making more money. The extent to which this is a burden depends somewhat on what percentage of income a person has to pay. This burden does not fall equally on everyone.
Here are the 10 states that pay the most federal taxes as a percentage of income:
1. Connecticut, 16.81%
2. New York, 16.55%
3. Massachusetts, 16.29%
4. California, 15.74%
5. New Jersey, 15.69%
6. Florida, 15.69%
7. Washington, 14.76%
8. Illinois, 14.55%
9. Texas, 14.50%
10. Nevada, 14.44%
The biggest increase in individual tax burdens over the past 5 years
A big pain point when it comes to taxes is seeing an increase in what you have to pay. Even so, it’s not all bad news if rising taxes are the result of rising income. The 10 states that have seen the biggest increases in taxes paid per person over the past five years have also enjoyed above-average increases in per capita incomes.
Here are the top 10 states by percentage increase in taxes paid per person over the past five years:
1. Montana, 56.54%
2. Utah, 49.78%
3. Idaho, 47.72%
4. Nevada, 43.95%
5. Florida, 43.06%
6. Arizona, 40.90%
7. South Carolina, 40.24%
8. North Carolina, 40.11%
9. Wyoming, 38.42%
10. South Dakota, 37.65%
Methodology: Which states pay the most federal taxes
These figures are based on personal income taxes in the most recent year for which Internal Revenue Service figures are available, which is 2022.
The IRS provided data on taxes and income levels, while the U.S. Census Bureau provided data for the adult population of each state and the District of Columbia.
This study focused on individual income taxes only. The per capita revenue figures were calculated by dividing the total taxes paid by individuals in each state by the number of adult residents of that state.
The tax burden as a percentage of income was calculated by dividing the total taxes in each state by the adjusted gross income on tax returns from those states. The five-year percentage increase was calculated by comparing this year’s per capita tax burden with the per capita tax burden from figures based on the 2017 tax year.
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Frequently asked questions
California remains the state with the highest total contribution, paying $312.8 billion in federal income taxes. This accounts for nearly 15% of the national total.
California residents contribute a total of $312.8 billion. On a per capita basis, this breaks down to an average of $10,245 per adult resident, which ranks fifth in the nation.
In terms of individual federal income tax revenue, California is the leader, followed by Texas ($181.5 billion), Florida ($176 billion), and New York ($168.6 billion).
