Head-to-head
New York vs Connecticut
New York City example: $1,000 of taxable goods carries $88.75 in sales tax at New York City's 8.875% combined rate and $63.50 at Connecticut's 6.35%, so $25.25 more in New York City. Other New York addresses have their own combined rate: enter yours in the worksheet below.
Updated NYC rate: Publication 718, effective March 1, 2025, MCTD included
Compare sales tax on your taxable purchase amount
Enter the amount and confirmed rate, then confirm both scenarios.
| Scenario | Estimated tax | Amount + tax |
|---|---|---|
| New York | Not calculated | Not calculated |
| Connecticut | Not calculated | Not calculated |
Estimated NY collection minus CT collection: Not calculated
Use the same independently confirmed taxable amount for two separate retail purchases of ordinary tangible goods. This worksheet excludes services. Enter the New York address lookup's combined rate: it already includes state, local and applicable MCTD tax. Do not add those components again. New York generally uses the delivery or possession-transfer location, rather than your home address alone.
The Connecticut scenario uses the 6.35% general rate, without local sales tax. Confirm that this purchase qualifies. Meals, certain vehicles, luxury goods, computer services and exempt purchases may need different treatment. Enter only the taxable purchase amount, with applicable taxable charges already resolved; exclude exempt items.
Worked scenario: entering $1,000 with New York City's 8.875% rate from Publication 718 returns NY tax of $88.75 and CT tax of $63.50, totals of $1,088.75 and $1,063.50. That is a New York City rate, not a statewide one. New York retail-goods tax of $0.005 or less is not collected from the customer under Tax Law §1132(b). Otherwise these estimates round each whole-amount tax to the nearest cent, with half cents rounded up. Connecticut’s half-cent convention here is an estimate policy, not an agency-prescribed receipt rule; retailer or item-by-item rounding may differ. A negative difference means lower NY tax under the entered assumptions.
This comparison does not decide which state can tax a cross-border transaction or calculate any additional use tax or credit. Buying across the border does not by itself remove tax obligations. Check the agencies' sourcing rules and Connecticut's individual use tax guidance when the purchase location and place of use differ. Annual income taxes, commuting costs and housing budgets belong in a separate household comparison.
New York vs Connecticut sales tax
New York's state rate is 4%, with local tax added at the delivery address and another 0.375% in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. Connecticut's general rate is 6.35% with no local sales tax.
A $100 purchase subject to the general rate would carry $6.35 in Connecticut; in New York, the state portion is $4 before the applicable local and district taxes. Product exemptions and special rates can change either result.
For a real purchase, use New York's address-based rate lookup or Connecticut's sales tax guidance.
| Measure | New York | Connecticut | First − second |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-items price level | 107.921 | 103.610 | +4.311 points |
| Rent price level | 122.168 | 117.048 | +5.120 points |
| Home value | $423,800±$1,627 | $366,900±$1,621 | +$56,900 |
| Two-bedroom gross rent | $1,620±$10 | $1,584±$15 | +$36 |
| Household income | $85,974±$402 | $95,781±$732 | −$9,807 |
| Real estate taxes paid | $6,582±$21 | $6,643±$25 | −$61 |
$4,000 of monthly spending in New York scales to $3,840 in Connecticut at the 2024 all-items price ratio.
BEA 2024 and ACS 2020–2024; ± marks the Census 90% margin. How to read a gap
New York vs Connecticut beyond the receipt
Which state charges more sales tax depends on the New York address. Connecticut applies one general rate everywhere, 6.35%, while New York's 4% state rate is joined by county and city rates and, in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, an extra 0.375%. The worksheet above uses the confirmed combined rate for a specific address; the result does not tell you which state is cheaper to live in.
Income taxes are the bigger annual number. New York's graduated tax has top rates from 9.65% to 10.90% through 2032, and New York City adds its own income tax. Connecticut's tax runs from 2% to 6.99% across seven brackets. A Connecticut resident who works in New York pays New York tax on that pay and claims a Connecticut credit, explained below. Income tax supplied a similar share of each state's fiscal 2025 collections, 46.6% in New York and 45.3% in Connecticut, and per-resident collections were close: $6,563 and $6,711.
Prices differ more by category than in total. New York's all-items parity is 4.311 points higher (107.921 against 103.610), driven by goods, which are 9.924 points dearer; Connecticut's utilities are dearer by 12.125 points. Rents are close: two-bedroom gross-rent medians of $1,620 in New York and $1,584 in Connecticut, only $36 apart, and nearly identical rent burdens of 31.2% and 31.4%.
Owners pay almost the same property tax, a median $6,582 in New York and $6,643 in Connecticut, on median homes worth $423,800 and $366,900.
Connecticut's price-adjusted income is higher: real per capita personal income of $74,254 (rank 3) against $64,153 (rank 11).
Price levels by category
| Measure | New York | Connecticut | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 107.921 | 103.610 | +4.311 |
| Goods | 107.254 | 97.330 | +9.924 |
| Housing (rents) | 122.168 | 117.048 | +5.120 |
| Utilities | 134.370 | 146.495 | −12.125 |
| Other services | 104.067 | 102.658 | +1.409 |
| Real income per person (2017 $) | $64,153 | $74,254 | −$10,101 |
Two state tax mixes, FY2025
New York: $131.28 billion, $6,563 per resident. Connecticut: $24.75 billion, $6,711 per resident.
| Tax | NY share | CT share | NY per resident | CT per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual income | 46.6% | 45.3% | $3,060 | $3,042 |
| General sales | 15.5% | 25.3% | $1,020 | $1,698 |
| Property | not levied | not levied | — | — |
| Motor fuel | 1.2% | 2.3% | $77 | $154 |
| Other selective sales | 10.3% | 9.7% | $674 | $649 |
| Corporate income | 20.4% | 14.1% | $1,339 | $949 |
| Licenses | 1.5% | 1.6% | $96 | $104 |
| Severance | not levied | 0.0% | — | $0 |
| Other taxes | 4.5% | 1.7% | $297 | $116 |
Taxes on wages and purchases
Living in Connecticut, working in New York
A Connecticut resident who pays New York tax claims Connecticut's credit for income taxes paid to qualifying jurisdictions on Schedule 2 of Form CT-1040. The credit is the lesser of the New York tax actually paid and the share of Connecticut income tax that corresponds to the non-Connecticut income reported on the New York return; the New York return must be attached or the credit is disallowed.
How New York taxes nonresident commuters and telecommuters.
Sources, read : Connecticut Department of Revenue Services: 2025 Form CT-1040, Schedule 2.
Reviewed by the State Cost Compare Editorial Team · Review policy · Report a correction