10 states that have the lowest tax burden on the wealthy and the 10 with the highest

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10 states that have the lowest tax burden on the wealthy and the 10 with the highest
  • A WalletHub study shows how taxes for the wealthy can vary across the US.
  • New York has the highest tax burden on the wealthy while Alaska has the lowest.

The amount of taxes wealthy Americans are required to pay can vary wildly depending on their state of residence.

A study from personal finance company WalletHub, published in February, looked at the tax burden for people in various income brackets for all 50 states and DC. The 10 states with the highest and lowest taxes on the upper class come from all areas of the country, but there is a clear divide between states with red and blue political leanings.

To determine the tax burden, WalletHub examined the amount of taxes paid at three different income levels, with $25,000 defined as "low," $50,000 for "medium," and $150,000 as "high." It also looked at the percentage of a resident's income in each state that goes to sales and excise taxes, property taxes, and income taxes.

Source: WalletHub

While it might not come as a surprise that the Republican and Democratic parties often have different stances on taxing the wealthy, the level of divide in WalletHub's analysis is stark.

Of the 10 states with the highest taxes on the wealthy, nine are states President Joe Biden won in the 2020 presidential election. Meanwhile, nine of the 10 states with the lowest tax burden went to former President Donald Trump.

The 10 states with the lowest overall taxes tend to be quite lenient on income tax. In fact, five of those states have no state income tax and four have an income tax below 1% for the wealthy. On the other hand, the 10 states with the highest taxes for the rich had income taxes that ranged between 3.96% and 6.62%.

Here are the 10 states where wealthy residents pay the highest percentage of their income on state taxes, ranked from highest to lowest (No. 50 to No. 41). That's followed by the 10 states with the lowest tax burden for high-income earners, also ranked from highest to lowest (No. 10 to No. 1). Business Insider omitted DC, which was included in the WalletHub study and ranked 47th overall.

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50. New York

50. New York
New York City.joSon/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 13.36%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.17%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 4.63%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 5.56%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

49. Hawai'i

49. Hawai'i
Honolulu, Hawaii.SCStock/Shutterstock

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 12.08%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 4.27%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.48%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 5.33%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

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48. Connecticut

48. Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut.Greg Patton/Shutterstock

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 12.01%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.32%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 4.17%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 4.53%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

47. New Jersey

47. New Jersey
Cape May, New Jersey.Denis Tangney Jr/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 11.97%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 2.88%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 5.01%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 4.08%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

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46. Maryland

46. Maryland
Columbia, Maryland.KhanIM/Shutterstock

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 11.53%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 2.76%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.72%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 6.05%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

45. Illinois

45. Illinois
Chicago.Bo Zaunders/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 10.93%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.12%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 3.83%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 3.99%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

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44. California

44. California
Napa, California.DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 10.87%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.76%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 3.15%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 3.96%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

43. Kansas

43. Kansas
Topeka, Kansas.MattGush/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 10.81%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.56%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 3.21%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 4.05%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican

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42. Minnesota

42. Minnesota
Claire Gentile/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 10.57%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 2.92%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.93%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 4.71%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

41. Oregon

41. Oregon
Portland, Oregon.Shutterstock/Sean Pavone

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 10.50%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 0.88%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 3.00%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 6.62%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

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10 states with the lowest tax burden for high-income earners

10. Texas

10. Texas
Houston, Texas.Duy Do/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 7.51%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 4.29%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 3.21%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.00%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican

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9. Montana

9. Montana
Bozeman, Montana.Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 7.37%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 1.25%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.33%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 3.78%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican

8. Tennessee

8. Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee.Malcolm MacGregor/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 7.12%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 5.09%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 1.80%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.22%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican

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7. Nevada

7. Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada.Wendy Lee

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 6.70%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.85%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.35%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.51%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

6. South Dakota

6. South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota.DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 6.55%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 4.11%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.44%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.00%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican

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5. Florida

5. Florida
South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida.Mia2you/Shutterstock

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 6.50%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.77%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.73%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.00%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican

4. Wyoming

4. Wyoming
Casper, Wyoming.Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 6.22%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.01%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 3.20%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.00%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican

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3. North Dakota

3. North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota.Sanghwan Kim/Getty Images

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 6.12%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 3.50%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.06%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.57%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican

2. New Hampshire

2. New Hampshire
Nashua, New Hampshire.DenisTangneyJr/Shutterstock

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 5.72%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 0.82%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 4.50%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.39%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Democrat

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1. Alaska

1. Alaska
Anchorage, AlaskaBlue Poppy

Overall tax burden as a percentage of income: 3.95%

Sales and excise tax as a percentage of income: 1.18%

Property tax as a percentage of income: 2.77%

Income tax as a percentage of income: 0.00%

Result of 2020 presidential election: Republican