State ranking · 2026 tax year · $100K single
Lowest State Income Tax at $100K
Every US jurisdiction ranked by the state income tax a single filer owes on $100,000 of taxable income, federal tax and FICA are identical everywhere, so only the state line moves.
- 9
- states charge $0
- $1,005
- cheapest taxed · North Dakota
- $8,431
- top of the table · Oregon
The lowest-burden answer
Live in one of the 9 no-income-tax states and your state line is $0 on $100K. Among states that do tax wage income, North Dakota is the lightest at $1,005 - its first bracket is exempt well past the median income. The same $100,000 costs $8,431 in Oregon, the heaviest state line in the country.
State schedules: each Department of Revenue 2026 · aggregated by Tax Foundation How we calculate →
Full ranking, 10 lowest at $100K
| Rank | State | State tax at $100K | Top rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Alaska | $0 | 0.00% |
| #2 | Florida | $0 | 0.00% |
| #3 | Nevada | $0 | 0.00% |
| #4 | New Hampshire | $0 | 0.00% |
| #5 | South Dakota | $0 | 0.00% |
| #6 | Tennessee | $0 | 0.00% |
| #7 | Texas | $0 | 0.00% |
| #8 | Washington | $0 | 0.00% |
| #9 | Wyoming | $0 | 0.00% |
| #10 | North Dakota | $1,005 | 2.50% |
Why these states rank lowest
Two structures put a state near the top of this list. First, 9 jurisdictions impose no broad-based income tax - Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming, and fund themselves through severance taxes (Alaska, Wyoming), sales taxes (Tennessee, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Washington), gaming taxes (Nevada), or property taxes (Texas, Florida, New Hampshire). On the state income-tax line they all read $0. Source: Tax Foundation, 2026 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets.
Second, among states that do tax income, the lightest burdens come from those whose lowest brackets reach far up the income scale. North Dakota exempts its first bracket past roughly the median household income, so a $100,000 taxable income is taxed at a low effective rate - $1,005 in total. Flat-rate states such as Pennsylvania (3.07%), Indiana (2.90%), and Arizona (2.50%) follow close behind. Source: each state Department of Revenue, 2026 schedules.
Six states cut their rates effective January 1, 2026, Arkansas (4.4%→3.9%), Mississippi (4.7%→4.4%), Nebraska (toward 4.55%), Ohio (to a flat 2.75%), Oklahoma, and West Virginia, pulling several of them down the ranking compared with 2025. Source: Tax Foundation, 2026 State Tax Changes Taking Effect January 1.
What this ranking doesn't capture
State income tax at $100,000 of taxable income is one slice of the whole picture. Several no-income-tax states recover the revenue elsewhere: Texas effective property tax exceeds 1.6% of home value (versus a ~1.0% national average), Tennessee's combined sales tax runs near the highest in the country, and Washington levies a 7% capital-gains tax above ~$270,000 in long-term gains. A low income-tax line is not the same as a low total tax burden.
For a side-by-side at any income level, see the all-state comparison, the individual state pages, or run your own numbers in the 2026 calculator.
Sources
- Tax Foundation, 2026 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets
- Each state Department of Revenue, 2026 rate publications
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32-2026 federal inflation adjustments
- SSA Fact Sheet 2026, Social Security changes
Methodology: see the methodology page for the bracket-walking algorithm and the verification process.
More PlainTaxCalc ranking and calculator surfaces
Continue from this lowest-burden board to compare tables, calculators, and companion rankings on the same 2026 schedules.
- Highest state tax at $100K Mirror board for the heaviest $100K state-income-tax lines.
- Best states for $200K earners See how ordering shifts when income doubles to $200K.
- Compare all 51 jurisdictions Full $50K, $100K, and $200K burden table sorted lowest to highest.
- Federal + state tax calculator Stack federal brackets, state schedules, and FICA at your income.
- Nine states with no income tax Which jurisdictions forgo wage tax and what they levy instead.
- Effective burden research study Data study ranking dollars owed at $100K across all jurisdictions.
- 2026 federal bracket reference All filing statuses, standard deductions, and FICA wage-base thresholds.
- Take-home pay calculator Monthly net after federal, state, and FICA withholding.
What to do with this ranking
9 states zero out the income-tax column at $100K; among taxed schedules North Dakota is lightest at $1,005.
- Flip to the heaviest state lines at the same $100K taxable income. Highest at $100K
- Read which jurisdictions levy no broad-based wage income tax and how they fund services. No-income-tax guide
- Open the full bracket schedule for any state in the list. Browse state pages
- See how the ordering shifts when income doubles to $200K. Best at $200K
Low income-tax lines do not imply a low total tax burden. Property, sales, and excise taxes are outside this column.
Every figure on PlainTaxCalc is rendered directly from IRS Revenue Procedure and state Department of Revenue data, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking draws directly on IRS Revenue Procedure and state Department of Revenue data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data issue on this page.
A published rate is a schedule line, not a filing recommendation. The calculator's take-home figure applies the standard deduction only, it excludes credits, AMT, and itemized deductions. These pages explain the issued tables; they are not tax advice.