State tax rankings · 2026
Where does $100K keep the most?
The states that take the least from a $100,000 single salary in 2026. 9 states levy no tax on wage income at all, among states that do tax wages, the bite ranges from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
This list, in one line
9 no-tax states leave about $79,180 take-home on $100K single, the #15 cutoff to make this list is $2,940 (Kentucky). Among taxing states, North Dakota is gentlest at roughly $690.
- 9
- States with $0 wage income tax
- $79,180
- Best take-home on $100K
- $2,940
- #15, the cutoff to make this list
- $690
- Lowest taxing (North Dakota)
Single filer, standard deduction, wage income only. Federal income tax and FICA are identical in every state, the difference is the state income tax line.
Lowest state income tax at $100K (among taxing states)
The 9 no-tax states sit at $0 and aren't charted here. These are the 12 states with the smallest state-tax line on a $100,000 single salary, the lowest taxing state is highlighted.
Top 15: most take-home on $100K
Ranked from the smallest total tax burden up. Each links to that state's full 2026 breakdown and calculator.
| # | State | State tax | Take-home | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 2 | Florida | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 3 | Nevada | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 5 | South Dakota | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 6 | Tennessee | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 7 | Texas | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 8 | Washington | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 9 | Wyoming | $0 | $79,180 | 20.8% |
| 10 | North Dakota | $690 | $78,489 | 21.5% |
| 11 | Arizona | $2,100 | $77,083 | 22.9% |
| 12 | Ohio | $2,310 | $76,873 | 23.1% |
| 13 | Louisiana | $2,520 | $76,663 | 23.3% |
| 14 | Indiana | $2,920 | $76,260 | 23.7% |
| 15 | Kentucky | $2,940 | $76,244 | 23.8% |
No-tax states aren't all equal
All 9 no-tax states deliver the same ~$79,180 take-home on a $100K salary, because federal income tax and FICA are the only withholdings. Washington is on this list for wage income only, it taxes certain capital gains, but a salary is untouched. The real cost-of-living difference between these states shows up in property tax, sales tax, and housing, not the paycheck.
Among taxing states, low-and-flat wins
The gentlest taxing states tend to be either very low flat-rate jurisdictions or graduated systems whose brackets stay shallow at $100K. North Dakota tops the taxing tier at about $690 - a rounding error next to the highest-tax states, where the $100K state line runs into the thousands. Use the calculator to model your own income.
Sources
- Tax Foundation, 2026 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32-2026 federal inflation-adjusted brackets
- Social Security Administration, 2026 FICA / OASDI wage base
All take-home figures: single filer, standard deduction, wage income only, no credits or local taxes. See the full methodology.
Every figure on PlainSalary is computed directly from official IRS, state Department of Revenue, and SSA tax data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on official tax data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.