Thinking about moving? Most tax-friendly states seeing largest population gains

A new analysis by MoneyGeek indicates states that are the most tax-friendly are also ones that are growing.

MoneyGeek’s data looked at total local and state tax burdens through variables like income, sales and property taxes. MoneyGeek gave each state a grade for how much tax a family with one dependent, filing jointly, making a gross income of $87,432 and owning a home worth $374,665 would pay.

The five states with an A grade — meaning a tax burden of $3,438–$5,705 — were Alaska, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee and Wyoming. Florida, Nevada and Tennessee all had more than 1% population growth in 2022.

Meanwhile, four states — New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois — all were given an F grade for having tax burdens ranging from $12,510–$14,778. Illinois, which has the worst tax burden in the U.S. at $14,778, had a net population loss of .7% in 2022.

There were some exceptions, though. For instance, Louisiana lost .7% of its population in 2022 but had a solid B grade for its tax burden. Also, Connecticut had the second-highest tax burden in the U.S. but had a modest .6% population growth.

MoneyGeek used data from the U.S. Census to compile its analysis.

MoneyGeek noted that all five states with an A rating do not have a state income tax. The tax load in the most tax-friendly state, Wyoming, was nearly one-fourth of that in the state with the highest burden, Illinois.

The full analysis is available on MoneyGeek’s website.

By Scripps News.