# Take-Home Pay Index 2026 — All 51 US Jurisdictions Ranked by Net Pay

**URL:** https://statetakehome.com/take-home-pay-index
**Type:** interactive ranking / citable index (data + calculator)
**Data vintage:** tax year 2026 — IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, IRS Pub 15-T, SSA 2026 wage base, and the 2026 schedules of all 51 state Departments of Revenue.
**Last updated:** 2026-07-03

## What is the Take-Home Pay Index?

The Take-Home Pay Index 2026 ranks all 50 US states plus the District of Columbia by how much net pay a single filer keeps from the same benchmark salary. The primary benchmark is $75,000 per year with the standard deduction and no pre-tax contributions. The same ranking is also computed at $50,000 and $100,000 so readers can see how progressive state brackets change the picture as income grows. Every figure is computed by the StateTakeHome calculation engine — the same engine that powers every state calculator on the site — and is verified against IRS publications and each state Department of Revenue.

## Key findings (2026, $75,000 single filer)

- Nine states tie for #1 at $61,593 net: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. None of them taxes wage income, so only federal tax and FICA come out of the paycheck.
- Oregon ranks last at $55,529 net — a 26% total effective rate, the highest in the index, because Oregon combines high progressive brackets with no sales-tax offset for wage earners.
- The best-to-worst gap is $6,064 per year on identical gross pay. Same salary, same federal law — the state line alone moves take-home by about 8.1% of gross.
- Dollars kept per $1,000 earned range from $821 (no-tax states) down to $740 (Oregon). The median jurisdiction keeps about $786 of every $1,000.
- North Dakota is the best-ranked state that does tax wages (#10, $61,389), its 2026 rates being low enough to nearly match the no-tax group.
- California, often assumed to be the most expensive state for payroll taxes, ranks 48th at $75,000 — Oregon, Hawaii and Maine take more from a mid-income single filer at this level. California's brackets bite harder above $100,000.
- Rankings are stable at the top across incomes but shift in the middle: progressive states like Minnesota or Vermont fall as income rises, while flat-tax states like Illinois or Colorado hold their position.

## How is the index calculated?

1. One benchmark salary is applied — $75,000 gross, single filer, standard deduction, no 401(k) or pre-tax health deductions.
2. Federal income tax is computed with the 2026 brackets and standard deduction from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and IRS Pub 15-T.
3. FICA is applied: 6.2% Social Security up to the 2026 SSA wage base, plus 1.45% Medicare.
4. Each state's own 2026 income-tax schedule is applied, including state-specific payroll add-ons such as California SDI or Washington PFML, using rates published by the state Department of Revenue.
5. The 51 resulting net-pay figures are ranked, highest first. The computation is repeated at $50,000 and $100,000.

The index measures paycheck taxes only. It deliberately excludes property tax, sales tax and cost of living, which are covered by separate StateTakeHome datasets (see the property-tax index covering 3,125 counties).

## Full ranking table (2026, single filer)

| Rank | State | Net @ $75k | Kept per $1,000 | Effective rate @ $75k | Net @ $50k | Net @ $100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 2 | Florida | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 3 | Nevada | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 5 | South Dakota | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 6 | Tennessee | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 7 | Texas | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 8 | Washington | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 9 | Wyoming | $61,593 | $821 | 17.9% | $42,355 | $79,180 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $61,389 | $819 | 18.1% | $42,355 | $78,489 |
| 11 | Ohio | $60,246 | $803 | 19.7% | $41,696 | $77,146 |
| 12 | Arizona | $59,926 | $799 | 20.1% | $41,314 | $76,889 |
| 13 | Louisiana | $59,729 | $796 | 20.4% | $41,241 | $76,566 |
| 14 | South Carolina | $59,433 | $792 | 20.8% | $41,498 | $75,718 |
| 15 | Indiana | $59,410 | $792 | 20.8% | $40,910 | $76,260 |
| 16 | Iowa | $59,354 | $791 | 20.9% | $41,067 | $75,992 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $59,290 | $791 | 20.9% | $40,820 | $76,110 |
| 18 | Arkansas | $59,276 | $790 | 21% | $40,964 | $75,939 |
| 19 | New Mexico | $59,233 | $790 | 21% | $41,171 | $75,611 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $59,200 | $789 | 21.1% | $40,900 | $75,783 |
| 21 | North Carolina | $59,109 | $788 | 21.2% | $40,869 | $75,699 |
| 22 | Kentucky | $59,085 | $788 | 21.2% | $40,723 | $75,798 |
| 23 | Mississippi | $59,085 | $788 | 21.2% | $40,847 | $75,672 |
| 24 | Missouri | $59,005 | $787 | 21.3% | $40,942 | $75,417 |
| 25 | Colorado | $59,001 | $787 | 21.3% | $40,863 | $75,488 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $58,955 | $786 | 21.4% | $40,827 | $75,398 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | $58,944 | $786 | 21.4% | $40,901 | $75,206 |
| 28 | New Jersey | $58,940 | $786 | 21.4% | $41,085 | $74,935 |
| 29 | Nebraska | $58,884 | $785 | 21.5% | $40,784 | $75,334 |
| 30 | Vermont | $58,753 | $783 | 21.7% | $40,936 | $74,690 |
| 31 | Montana | $58,716 | $783 | 21.7% | $40,762 | $74,891 |
| 32 | Michigan | $58,656 | $782 | 21.8% | $40,481 | $75,181 |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $58,624 | $782 | 21.8% | $40,512 | $75,087 |
| 34 | Georgia | $58,599 | $781 | 21.9% | $40,609 | $74,939 |
| 35 | Idaho | $58,471 | $780 | 22% | $40,558 | $74,733 |
| 36 | Utah | $58,255 | $777 | 22.3% | $40,130 | $74,730 |
| 37 | Maryland | $58,242 | $777 | 22.3% | $40,192 | $74,642 |
| 38 | Connecticut | $58,218 | $776 | 22.4% | $40,355 | $74,430 |
| 39 | District of Columbia | $58,164 | $776 | 22.4% | $40,521 | $73,649 |
| 40 | New York | $58,140 | $775 | 22.5% | $40,252 | $74,320 |
| 41 | Massachusetts | $58,063 | $774 | 22.6% | $40,075 | $74,400 |
| 42 | Virginia | $58,041 | $774 | 22.6% | $40,241 | $74,191 |
| 43 | Alabama | $58,033 | $774 | 22.6% | $40,045 | $74,370 |
| 44 | Illinois | $58,025 | $774 | 22.6% | $40,025 | $74,375 |
| 45 | Minnesota | $58,016 | $774 | 22.6% | $40,478 | $73,903 |
| 46 | Delaware | $57,874 | $772 | 22.8% | $40,147 | $73,811 |
| 47 | Kansas | $57,696 | $769 | 23.1% | $39,854 | $73,889 |
| 48 | California | $57,677 | $769 | 23.1% | $40,503 | $72,657 |
| 49 | Maine | $57,347 | $765 | 23.5% | $39,804 | $73,147 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $57,336 | $764 | 23.6% | $39,989 | $73,023 |
| 51 | Oregon | $55,529 | $740 | 26% | $38,504 | $70,904 |


## How should the index be cited?

The index is free to cite and embed. Attribution: "Source: StateTakeHome Take-Home Pay Index 2026 (statetakehome.com/take-home-pay-index)". An embeddable chart is available at https://statetakehome.com/widgets/take-home-index and the underlying dataset (1,122 observations: 51 jurisdictions x 11 income levels x 2 filing statuses) is downloadable in CSV under CC BY 4.0 at https://statetakehome.com/data.

## What are the limitations?

The benchmark assumes a single filer taking the standard deduction, with no local city income taxes (for example, NYC or Ohio municipal taxes are excluded), no itemized deductions, and no credits. Married filers, parents claiming credits, and workers with large 401(k) contributions will see different absolute numbers, though relative rankings are broadly similar. This is educational market research, not tax advice; verify decisions with a licensed CPA or the state Department of Revenue.

## Related resources

- Full US paycheck calculator: https://statetakehome.com/
- State calculators: https://statetakehome.com/texas-take-home-pay-calculator (and 50 more)
- Open datasets (CC BY 4.0): https://statetakehome.com/data
- Methodology: https://statetakehome.com/methodology
- Embeddable widgets: https://statetakehome.com/widgets