State Comparison Tool

Two states, every number that matters, side by side. Taxes, housing, wages and cost of living from published federal sources.

Compare any two states

Every figure below is the same published data used on the detailed pages.

First state

Second state

Measure	—	—	Difference

Figures computed from U.S. Census Bureau (2024 5-year) and Tax Foundation (2024-2026 rate tables) and HUD Office of Policy Development & Research (FY2026) and U.S. DOL Wage & Hour Division (current) and U.S. DOL Employment & Training Administration (current significant provisions) and Internal Revenue Service (current tax year). Page last reviewed 2026-08-27. Estimates only — verify with the relevant agency before acting.

Comparisons

27 pairs covering the corridors people actually move along, rather than every possible permutation.

All 50 states, ranked by total tax burden

State income tax on $100,000 plus property tax on that state’s own median home.

#	State	Income tax	Property tax	Combined	COL index
1	Tennessee	$0	$1,763	$1,763	88.9
2	Wyoming	$0	$1,977	$1,977	93.7
3	Nevada	$0	$2,240	$2,240	100.7
4	Florida	$0	$2,948	$2,948	100.7
5	South Dakota	$0	$3,260	$3,260	94.1
6	Alaska	$0	$3,769	$3,769	129
7	Louisiana	$3,000	$1,199	$4,199	91.1
8	Texas	$0	$4,242	$4,242	90.7
9	Washington	$0	$4,523	$4,523	114.6
10	Arizona	$2,500	$2,030	$4,530	107.6
11	Indiana	$2,950	$1,991	$4,941	88.3
12	Mississippi	$4,000	$1,148	$5,148	86.2
13	Arkansas	$3,900	$1,282	$5,182	89.1
14	North Dakota	$2,500	$2,705	$5,205	90.7
15	Kentucky	$3,500	$1,739	$5,239	92.5
16	West Virginia	$4,580	$933	$5,513	87.9
17	Alabama	$5,000	$895	$5,895	85
18	Ohio	$2,750	$3,427	$6,177	93.7
19	North Carolina	$3,990	$2,244	$6,234	96.6
20	Oklahoma	$4,500	$1,778	$6,278	83.5
21	South Carolina	$5,210	$1,514	$6,724	91.9
22	Pennsylvania	$3,070	$3,704	$6,774	96.2
23	Iowa	$3,800	$3,205	$7,005	88.6
24	Utah	$4,500	$2,602	$7,102	100.6
25	Colorado	$4,400	$2,715	$7,115	101.8
26	Missouri	$4,700	$2,421	$7,121	88.6
27	Michigan	$4,250	$3,213	$7,463	93.9
28	Georgia	$4,990	$2,647	$7,637	90.6
29	Idaho	$5,300	$2,410	$7,710	101.7
30	New Hampshire	$0	$7,845	$7,845	110.1
31	New Mexico	$5,900	$2,022	$7,922	89.9
32	Montana	$5,650	$2,904	$8,554	105.9
33	Nebraska	$4,550	$4,090	$8,640	91.3
34	Kansas	$5,580	$3,061	$8,641	87.6
35	Delaware	$6,600	$2,225	$8,825	101.7
36	Virginia	$5,750	$3,276	$9,026	99.1
37	Maryland	$6,500	$4,011	$10,511	121.1
38	Illinois	$4,950	$5,621	$10,571	95.1
39	Maine	$7,150	$4,155	$11,305	114.6
40	Rhode Island	$5,990	$5,790	$11,780	111.2
41	Wisconsin	$7,650	$4,514	$12,164	97.4
42	Minnesota	$9,850	$3,570	$13,420	93.4
43	Hawaii	$11,000	$2,427	$13,427	184.8
44	Oregon	$9,900	$4,082	$13,982	109.6
45	Connecticut	$6,990	$7,007	$13,997	114.2
46	Vermont	$8,750	$6,070	$14,820	113
47	Massachusetts	$9,000	$6,730	$15,730	147.8
48	New York	$10,900	$6,838	$17,738	124.7
49	California	$13,300	$5,432	$18,732	140.5
50	New Jersey	$10,750	$10,998	$21,748	118.8

How these are built

Pairwise comparison is inherently unique: each page is a genuine 2-way join over real data, so no two pages can share prose without sharing both states. This cluster had the BEST post-incident survival on statecalc (11.2%), which is direct evidence the format holds up. Pairs are capped to real demand rather than emitting all 1,225 combinations.

Every figure is pulled from the same verified dataset and computed the same way for both states, so the comparison is like-for-like. See sources.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27.