Silke Jasso
As in every election, the issue of taxes played a significant role in the 2016 presidential campaigns. President Donald Trump’s tax plan has gone under the microscope since the polls closed, due to allegations that his strategy won’t aid the middle class as much as was promised during his campaign.
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How that plan evolves as we move further into Trump’s presidency remains to be seen. With this in mind, the data experts at CareerTrends — an employment and career research site powered by Graphiq — used the most recent data from the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to find which states pay the least in taxes.
RELATED: If you want your kids to be healthy, stable, and happy, raise them in one of these states
CareerTrends ranked the states based on the annual dollar amount that a married couple with one child needs to pay in taxes to meet a secure yet modest living standard in a given location, while operating under the assumption that income taxes are jointly filed by the married couple. The monthly budget used is provided by the EPI’s 2015 Family Budget Calculator, which provides an estimate of community-specific costs of childcare, food, healthcare, housing, taxes, transportation and other necessities for different family sizes across 618 locations.
It’s important to note that the factor used to order the states is the total dollar amount, not the tax rates, that a married family with one child paid in annual taxes. Under this criteria, several Southern states — like South Carolina, Arkansas and Texas — are among the 10 states that paid the least in taxes in 2015.
Alabama (#18)
- Annual taxes: $6,334
- Monthly taxes: $527
- Population: 4.8 million
Alaska (#21)
- Annual taxes: $6,429
- Monthly taxes: $535
- Population: 728,000
Arizona (#20)
- Annual taxes: $6,398
- Monthly taxes: $533
- Population: 6.56 million
Arkansas (#7)
- Annual taxes: $5,682
- Monthly taxes: $473
- Population: 2.95 million
California (#38)
- Annual taxes: $7,892
- Monthly taxes: $657
- Population: 38 million
Colorado (#39)
- Annual taxes: $7,908
- Monthly taxes: $659
- Population: 5.2 million
Connecticut (#50)
- Annual taxes: $11,227
- Monthly taxes: $935
- Population: 3.6 million
Delaware (#37)
- Annual taxes: $7,847
- Monthly taxes: $654
- Population: 917,000
Florida (#9)
- Annual taxes: $5,842
- Monthly taxes: $486
- Population: 19.4 million
Georgia (#29)
- Annual taxes: $6,978
- Monthly taxes: $581
- Population: 9.91 million
Hawaii (#45)
- Annual taxes: $8,925
- Monthly taxes: $744
- Population: 1.39 million
Idaho (#5)
- Annual taxes: $5,543
- Monthly taxes: $462
- Population: 1.6 million
Illinois (#41)
- Annual taxes: $8,213
- Monthly taxes: $684
- Population: 12.87 million
Indiana (#26)
- Annual taxes: $6,713
- Monthly taxes: $559
- Population: 6.54 million
Iowa (#30)
- Annual taxes: $7,112
- Monthly taxes: $592
- Population: 3.1 million
Kansas (#19)
- Annual taxes: $6,338
- Monthly taxes: $528
- Population: 2.88 million
Kentucky (#16)
- Annual taxes: $6,313
- Monthly taxes: $526
- Population: 4.4 million
Louisiana (#10)
- Annual taxes: $5,903
- Monthly taxes: $492
- Population: 4.6 million
Maine (#40)
- Annual taxes: $7,938
- Monthly taxes: $661
- Population: 1.33 million
Maryland (#42)
- Annual taxes: $8,232
- Monthly taxes: $686
- Population: 5.89 million
Massachusetts (#48)
- Annual taxes: $10,193
- Monthly taxes: $849
- Population: 6.65 million
Michigan (#28)
- Annual taxes: $6,926
- Monthly taxes: $577
- Population: 9.89 million
Minnesota (#35)
- Annual taxes: $7,646
- Monthly taxes: $637
- Population: 5.38 million
Mississippi (#24)
- Annual taxes: $6,655
- Monthly taxes: $554
- Population: 2.98 million
Missouri (#15)
- Annual taxes: $6,204
- Monthly taxes: $517
- Population: 6 million
Montana (#23)
- Annual taxes: $6,623
- Monthly taxes: $552
- Population: 1 million
Nebraska (#12)
- Annual taxes: $5,924
- Monthly taxes: $493
- Population: 1.86 million
Nevada (#25)
- Annual taxes: $6,671
- Monthly taxes: $556
- Population: 2.76 million
New Hampshire (#34)
- Annual taxes: $7,601
- Monthly taxes: $633
- Population: 1.32 million
New Jersey (#46)
- Annual taxes: $9,291
- Monthly taxes: $774
- Population: 8.87 million
New Mexico (#11)
- Annual taxes: $5,914
- Monthly taxes: $492
- Population: 2.1 million
New York (#49)
- Annual taxes: $10,545
- Monthly taxes: $878
- Population: 19.6 million
North Carolina (#36)
- Annual taxes: $7,790
- Monthly taxes: $654
- Population: 9.75 million
North Dakota (#6)
- Annual taxes: $5,549
- Monthly taxes: $462
- Population: 705,000
Ohio (#13)
- Annual taxes: $5,941
- Monthly taxes: $495
- Population: 11.56 million
Oklahoma (#4)
- Annual taxes: $4,889
- Monthly taxes: $407
- Population: 3.8 million
Oregon (#44)
- Annual taxes: $8,489
- Monthly taxes: $707
- Population: 3.9 million
Pennsylvania (#31)
- Annual taxes: $7,174
- Monthly taxes: $597
- Population: 12.76 million
Rhode Island (#43)
- Annual taxes: $8,296
- Monthly taxes: $691
- Population: 1.05 million
South Carolina (#8)
- Annual taxes: $5,714
- Monthly taxes: $476
- Population: 4.73 million
South Dakota (#2)
- Annual taxes: $4,795
- Monthly taxes: $399
- Population: 835,000
Tennessee (#1)
- Annual taxes: $3,397
- Monthly taxes: $283
- Population: 6.45 million
Texas (#3)
- Annual taxes: $4,855
- Monthly taxes: $404
- Population: 26.1 million
Utah (#22)
- Annual taxes: $6,472
- Monthly taxes: $539
- Population: 2.86 million
Vermont (#47)
- Annual taxes: $9,665
- Monthly taxes: $805
- Population: 626,000
Virginia (#33)
- Annual taxes: $7,587
- Monthly taxes: $632
- Population: 8.19 million
Washington (#14)
- Annual taxes: $6,118
- Monthly taxes: $509
- Population: 6.9 million
West Virginia (#27)
- Annual taxes: $6,855
- Monthly taxes: $571
- Population: 1.85 million
Wisconsin (#32)
- Annual taxes: $7,528
- Monthly taxes: $627
- Population: 5.72 million
Wyoming (#17)
- Annual taxes: $6,330
- Monthly taxes: $527
- Population: 575,000
