A new report from personal finance website GOBankingRates found that the wealthiest people in the U.S. pay in aggregate anywhere from a few billion to more than $100 billion in taxes.
The total income tax for the top 1% is more than $50 billion in four states, according to GOBankingRates—California ($122 billion), Florida ($96 billion), Texas ($81 billion), and New York ($79 billion).
The state where the top 1% pays the highest share of taxes is Wyoming. The top 1% pay 54.7% of all federal income taxes in the state, which is a total of around $2.5 billion. Florida, Nevada, New York, and Texas round out the top five.
GOBankingRates said it was able to determine these figures by analyzing individual tax returns by state, as well as a number of additional factors sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. Using data from the IRS statistics of income, the individual tax rates by income percentiles and by state were included.
In its methodology, GOBankingRates says it also used data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey, Zillow’s Home Value Index, and Federal Reserve Economic Data.
The table below from GOBankingRates ranks the 50 states from highest to lowest total income tax share percentage. It also includes total income tax for the top 1% in each state.
| Rank | State | Total Income Tax Share for Top 1% | Average Tax Rate for Top 1% | Total Income Tax (Thousands of $) | Number of Tax Returns for Top 1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 54.67% | 23.10% | $2,460,940 | 2,611 |
| 2 | Florida | 53.62% | 25.98% | $96,264,565 | 105,101 |
| 3 | Nevada | 51.12% | 24.97% | $11,010,104 | 14,754 |
| 4 | New York | 46.26% | 27.62% | $79,488,609 | 91,840 |
| 5 | Texas | 44.52% | 26.72% | $81,990,700 | 128,130 |
| 6 | Connecticut | 43.85% | 28.09% | $16,284,881 | 16,917 |
| 7 | Montana | 42.92% | 24.76% | $2,690,156 | 5,101 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 42.22% | 23.22% | $4,814,153 | 12,198 |
| 9 | Utah | 41.16% | 24.22% | $7,477,634 | 13,991 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 41.04% | 25.77% | $14,547,566 | 30,531 |
| 11 | South Dakota | 40.46% | 24.67% | $2,020,508 | 4,062 |
| 12 | Louisiana | 38.72% | 26.04% | $6,806,423 | 18,593 |
| 13 | California | 38.60% | 26.95% | $122,452,981 | 175,045 |
| 14 | Illinois | 38.39% | 26.98% | $32,677,874 | 56,794 |
| 15 | Georgia | 38.31% | 25.77% | $21,001,340 | 46,220 |
| 16 | Mississippi | 38.29% | 24.40% | $3,297,109 | 11,731 |
| 17 | Idaho | 38.20% | 24.00% | $3,392,957 | 8,145 |
| 18 | Massachusetts | 38.19% | 27.34% | $26,646,912 | 32,795 |
| 19 | Arizona | 38.00% | 25.28% | $14,438,918 | 31,872 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 37.80% | 24.60% | $5,622,529 | 16,106 |
| 21 | Missouri | 37.16% | 25.35% | $10,481,163 | 26,898 |
| 22 | South Carolina | 37.05% | 25.42% | $8,867,845 | 23,203 |
| 23 | Nebraska | 37.03% | 24.99% | $3,704,671 | 8,660 |
| 24 | Alabama | 36.15% | 23.94% | $6,778,809 | 20,185 |
| 25 | Kansas | 35.79% | 25.35% | $5,066,051 | 12,643 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | 35.54% | 25.69% | $11,024,109 | 27,293 |
| 27 | Indiana | 35.52% | 25.05% | $10,518,818 | 30,120 |
| 28 | New Hampshire | 35.41% | 25.58% | $3,946,877 | 6,796 |
| 29 | North Carolina | 35.28% | 25.74% | $19,037,365 | 46,525 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | 35.09% | 25.82% | $26,128,752 | 58,541 |
| 31 | Michigan | 35.01% | 24.53% | $16,650,121 | 45,218 |
| 32 | Ohio | 34.60% | 25.49% | $18,842,538 | 53,103 |
| 33 | Colorado | 34.51% | 25.96% | $14,894,687 | 27,685 |
| 34 | North Dakota | 34.41% | 25.94% | $1,521,767 | 3,431 |
| 35 | Kentucky | 34.26% | 24.72% | $5,451,182 | 18,395 |
| 36 | New Jersey | 33.78% | 27.38% | $26,899,308 | 43,042 |
| 37 | Rhode Island | 33.58% | 25.62% | $2,150,700 | 5,224 |
| 38 | Hawaii | 33.57% | 24.74% | $2,455,554 | 6,472 |
| 39 | Iowa | 33.16% | 24.75% | $4,813,252 | 13,821 |
| 40 | Virginia | 32.94% | 25.91% | $19,239,261 | 39,103 |
| 41 | Minnesota | 32.64% | 26.25% | $11,524,941 | 26,423 |
| 42 | New Mexico | 32.30% | 24.33% | $2,380,544 | 9,310 |
| 43 | Washington | 32.06% | 25.64% | $20,012,467 | 35,597 |
| 44 | Vermont | 32.04% | 24.76% | $1,078,255 | 3,123 |
| 45 | Maine | 30.48% | 24.37% | $1,976,671 | 6,618 |
| 46 | Maryland | 30.45% | 26.50% | $12,675,749 | 29,040 |
| 47 | Delaware | 30.38% | 25.59% | $1,647,326 | 4,726 |
| 48 | Oregon | 30.37% | 24.85% | $6,773,041 | 19,053 |
| 49 | West Virginia | 30.28% | 24.79% | $1,647,747 | 7,316 |
| 50 | Alaska | 26.37% | 25.19% | $1,016,945 | 3,223 |
With Tribune News Service
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Tags: Income Taxes, Taxes, top 1%
