Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min readProviding journalists, taxpayers, and policymakers with the latest data on taxes and spending is a cornerstone of the Tax Foundation’s educational mission.
As a nonpartisan, educational organization, the Tax Foundation has earned a reputation for independence and credibility. Our state tax policy team regularly provides accessible, data-driven insights on state tax rates, collections, burdens and more, from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and others.
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
9 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for nearly a quarter of combined state and local tax collections.
18 min read
Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax, with top rates ranging from a 2 percent flat rate in North Carolina to an 11.5 percent top marginal rate in New Jersey. Four states—Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—reduced their corporate income tax rates effective January 1, 2026.
5 min read
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
9 min read
Tax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
24 min read
Legal sports betting has grown rapidly since the Supreme Court granted states the ability to establish online sports betting markets in Murphy vs. NCAA in 2018.
6 min read
California levies the highest tax on gasoline at 70.9 cents per gallon (cpg), followed by Illinois at 66.4 cpg and Washington at 59.0 cpg.
8 min read
As the market share of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road grows, the gas tax’s ability to fund road projects and decrease traffic congestion erodes. Both federal and state real tax revenue per vehicle mile traveled has been on a steady decline for decades, creating a fiscal gap for road expenditures even as the demand for road infrastructure improvements has grown.
5 min read
Growing cigarette tax levels and differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and a lucrative criminal enterprise.
6 min read
However well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
16 min read
The five states with the highest average combined state and local sales tax rates are Louisiana (10.11 percent), Tennessee (9.61 percent), Arkansas (9.48 percent), Washington (9.47 percent), and Alabama (9.44 percent).
10 min read