Retirement taxes by state

All 51 ranked on the same retirement income, so the comparison means something. Most lists of retirement-friendly states just sort by whether there is an income tax, which misses the property tax bill that often costs more.

What the ranking shows

Wyoming is the cheapest at $3,280 a year. Connecticut is the most expensive at $14,004.
The spread is $10,724 a year on identical income, or $268K across a 25-year retirement.
9 states levy no income tax, and not all of them finish near the top once property tax is counted.
5 states still tax Social Security benefits.

All 51 states and the District of Columbia ranked by total retiree tax burden
Rank	State	Income tax	Property tax	Sales tax	Total
1	Wyoming	$0	$2,440	$840	$3,280
2	Nevada	$0	$2,200	$1,439	$3,639
3	Colorado	$1,360	$2,040	$609	$4,009
4	Tennessee	$0	$2,840	$1,470	$4,310
5	Louisiana	$1,544	$2,200	$935	$4,678
6	Alaska	$0	$4,760	$0	$4,760
7	Florida	$0	$3,560	$1,260	$4,820
8	Delaware	$2,722	$2,280	$0	$5,002
9	Georgia	$519	$3,680	$840	$5,039
10	Mississippi	$400	$3,240	$1,470	$5,110
11	Arizona	$1,338	$2,640	$1,176	$5,154
12	Alabama	$2,760	$1,640	$840	$5,240
13	Washington	$0	$3,920	$1,365	$5,285
14	West Virginia	$1,995	$2,360	$1,260	$5,615
15	North Dakota	$722	$3,920	$1,050	$5,692
16	South Carolina	$2,258	$2,280	$1,260	$5,798
17	Hawaii	$3,874	$1,120	$840	$5,834
18	South Dakota	$0	$4,960	$945	$5,905
19	Arkansas	$2,080	$2,520	$1,365	$5,965
20	Montana	$2,784	$3,320	$0	$6,104
21	Utah	$3,046	$2,280	$1,019	$6,344
22	Oklahoma	$1,997	$3,480	$945	$6,422
23	California	$2,095	$2,920	$1,523	$6,538
24	Indiana	$1,708	$3,400	$1,470	$6,578
25	North Carolina	$2,234	$3,360	$998	$6,592
26	New Mexico	$2,465	$3,120	$1,050	$6,635
27	Virginia	$2,273	$3,280	$1,113	$6,666
28	Washington DC	$3,240	$2,240	$1,260	$6,740
29	Kentucky	$2,240	$3,440	$1,260	$6,940
30	Idaho	$3,248	$2,760	$1,260	$7,268
31	Missouri	$2,518	$3,880	$887	$7,285
32	Pennsylvania	$307	$6,120	$1,260	$7,687
33	Michigan	$425	$6,160	$1,260	$7,845
34	Oregon	$3,998	$3,880	$0	$7,878
35	Ohio	$624	$6,240	$1,208	$8,071
36	Maryland	$2,608	$4,320	$1,260	$8,188
37	Texas	$0	$7,200	$1,313	$8,513
38	New Hampshire	$0	$8,720	$0	$8,720
39	Massachusetts	$2,800	$4,920	$1,313	$9,033
40	Iowa	$1,900	$6,280	$1,260	$9,440
41	Rhode Island	$2,100	$6,520	$1,470	$10,090
42	Maine	$3,547	$5,440	$1,155	$10,142
43	New York	$2,915	$6,880	$840	$10,635
44	Wisconsin	$2,581	$7,040	$1,050	$10,671
45	Nebraska	$2,602	$6,920	$1,155	$10,677
46	Illinois	$495	$9,080	$1,313	$10,888
47	Minnesota	$5,004	$4,440	$1,444	$10,888
48	Kansas	$4,103	$5,640	$1,365	$11,108
49	Vermont	$3,895	$7,600	$1,260	$12,755
50	New Jersey	$1,602	$9,960	$1,391	$12,953
51	Connecticut	$3,950	$8,720	$1,334	$14,004

Computed on $80,000 of retirement income ($24,000 Social Security, $46,000 from a traditional IRA, $10,000 other), a $400K home and $70,000 of annual spending, filed single at age 67. Rates are 2025 figures. Federal tax and local income taxes are excluded. Each state page lets you swap in your own numbers and re-rank everything.

Read before you move

No income tax is not the same as cheap

States without an income tax raise the money somewhere else, usually through property or sales tax. Texas and New Hampshire both do exactly that, and on a moderate retirement income they finish well behind states that do tax income but exempt most retirement sources.

Your income mix changes the answer

A pension-heavy retirement ranks states differently from an IRA-heavy one, because the exemptions are written per source. Change the mix on any state page and watch the ranking reshuffle.

Tax is rarely the biggest number

The full spread across all 51 is $10,724 a year. Housing costs between two metros can differ by more than that, and so can your withdrawal rate. Rank states on tax, then check the rest.

Put the state into a full plan

State tax is one line. Run the whole projection against 95 years of market history and see what it does to the retirement date.

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