State income tax rates across America, ranked from highest to lowest

Tanza LoudenbackOct 31, 2019, 02:39 IST

MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images/Contributor

Taxes are due on April 15, 2020. Many Americans will file a state income tax return in addition to a federal income tax return.
US states have either a flat income tax, a progressive tax, or no income tax.
The top income tax rate in the country is 13.3%, in California.
Read more personal finance coverage.

Tax day 2020 is Wednesday, April 15.

Many Americans will file both a federal tax return and state income tax return. You can do that through an online service like H&R Block or TurboTax - both of which offer free tax filing for eligible taxpayers - or an accountant.

When it comes to state income tax, the amount you pay varies depending on where you live. Seven US states have no income tax - Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire and Tennessee don't have a state income tax either, but they do tax interest and dividends at 5% and 2%.

The rest of the states either have a flat income tax - meaning everyone, regardless of how much they earn, pays the same percentage of their income to the government - or a progressive income tax, which means the tax rate is determined by income.

Among the 41 states that tax income, North Dakota has the lowest maximum rate at 2.9%. California has the highest top tax rate, topping out at 13.3%, but isn't the only one with a double-digit maximum.

Below, we've created a ranking of states from the highest state income tax rate to the lowest income tax rate. For states that have a range of tax rates based on income, we used the highest rate to determine the ranking. All figures are sourced from the Tax Foundation.

See State income tax rates across America, ranked from highest to lowest >>

42. California

State income tax rate: 1% to 13.3%

41. Hawaii

State income tax rate: 1.4% to 11%

40. New Jersey

State income tax rate: 1.4% to 10.75%

39. Oregon

State income tax rate: 5% to 9.9%

38. Minnesota

State income tax rate: 5.35% to 9.85%

37. Washington, DC

State income tax rate: 4% to 8.95%

36. New York

State income tax rate: 4% to 8.82%

35. Vermont

State income tax rate: 3.35% to 8.75%

34. Iowa

State income tax rate: 0.33% to 8.53%

33. Wisconsin

State income tax rate: 4% to 7.65%

32. Maine

State income tax rate: 5.8% to 7.15%

31. South Carolina

State income tax rate: 1.10% to 7%

30. Connecticut

State income tax rate: 3% to 6.99%

29. Idaho

State income tax rate: 1.13% to 6.93%

27 (TIE). Montana

State income tax rate: 1% to 6.9%

27 (TIE). Arkansas

State income tax rate: 0.9% to 6.9%

26. Nebraska

State income tax rate: 2.46% to 6.84%

25. Delaware

State income tax rate: 2.2% to 6.6%

24. West Virginia

State income tax rate: 3% to 6.5%

23. Louisiana

State income tax rate: 2% to 6%

22. Rhode Island

State income tax rate: 3.75% to 5.99%

19 (TIE). Maryland

State income tax rate: 2% to 5.75%

19 (TIE). Virginia

State income tax rate: 2% to 5.75%

19 (TIE). Georgia

State income tax rate: 1% to 5.75%

18. Kansas

State income tax rate: 3.10% to 5.7%

17. Missouri

State income tax rate: 1.5% to 5.40%

16. North Carolina

State income tax rate: 5.25%

15. Massachusetts

State income tax rate: 5.05%

10 (TIE). Mississippi

State income tax rate: 3% to 5%

10 (TIE). Alabama

State income tax rate: 2% to 5%

10 (TIE). Ohio

State income tax rate: 1.98% to 5%

10 (TIE). Oklahoma

State income tax rate: 0.5% to 5%

10 (TIE). Kentucky

State income tax rate: 5%

8 (TIE). Illinois

State income tax rate: 4.95%

8 (TIE). Utah