North Carolinians paid an average of $3,725 per capita in combined state tax levies (including property, income, and sales taxes), ranking fifteenth of the lowest tax burdens among the fifty states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2018).
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, which is the source of income data, the average per capita personal income for the same period was $46,215.
As a percentage of per capita personal income, North Carolinians paid an average of 8.06 percent of their income to a combination of state taxes, including 2.15 percent to property taxes, 2.63 percent to income taxes, and 3.28 percent to sales taxes.
The state of New York tops the list for the highest combined state tax levies as a percentage of per capita personal income at 12.8% (or $8,781) and Alaska is the lowest, at just over 5 percent, or $3,030. The average national combined state levies per capita come in at $4,588, or 8.6% percent of per capita personal income.
State Tax Levies as a
Percentage of Per capita Personal Income
| Rank | State | Combined state tax levies as a percentage of income | Combined state tax levies per person | Property taxes as a percentage of income | Income taxes as a percentage of income | Sales taxes as a percentage of income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 12.80% | $8,781 | 4.41% | 4.96% | 3.43% |
| 2 | Hawaii | 12.23% | $6,755 | 2.46% | 3.10% | 6.68% |
| 3 | District of Columbia | 11.63% | $9,435 | 4.60% | 3.63% | 3.40% |
| 4 | Vermont | 10.92% | $5,827 | 5.12% | 2.45% | 3.35% |
| 5 | Connecticut | 10.67% | $7,985 | 4.15% | 3.64% | 2.88% |
| 6 | Maine | 10.52% | $5,136 | 4.61% | 2.46% | 3.45% |
| 7 | New Jersey | 10.06% | $6,809 | 4.98% | 2.49% | 2.59% |
| 8 | Minnesota | 10.02% | $5,746 | 2.87% | 3.69% | 3.46% |
| 9 | Rhode Island | 9.75% | $5,312 | 4.47% | 2.31% | 2.98% |
| 10 | California | 9.49% | $6,029 | 2.64% | 3.78% | 3.06% |
| 11 | Illinois | 9.48% | $5,410 | 3.98% | 2.10% | 3.39% |
| 12 | Maryland | 9.43% | $5,905 | 2.70% | 3.94% | 2.79% |
| 13 | Kansas | 9.40% | $4,818 | 3.13% | 2.29% | 3.98% |
| 14 | Iowa | 9.27% | $4,640 | 3.39% | 2.53% | 3.35% |
| 15 | Nebraska | 9.08% | $4,793 | 3.80% | 2.32% | 2.96% |
| 16 | Mississippi | 9.01% | $3,403 | 2.80% | 1.64% | 4.56% |
| 17 | Ohio | 8.96% | $4,365 | 2.78% | 2.54% | 3.64% |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 8.90% | $4,588 | 3.25% | 2.72% | 2.92% |
| 19 | Louisiana | 8.83% | $4,079 | 1.93% | 1.51% | 5.39% |
| 20 | Arkansas | 8.80% | $3,806 | 1.79% | 2.20% | 4.81% |
| 21 | Massachusetts | 8.78% | $6,288 | 3.57% | 3.29% | 1.92% |
| 22 | West Virginia | 8.78% | $3,614 | 2.31% | 2.62% | 3.85% |
| 23 | Kentucky | 8.61% | $3,639 | 2.00% | 3.18% | 3.43% |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | 8.49% | $4,755 | 2.83% | 2.53% | 3.14% |
| 25 | Michigan | 8.47% | $4,040 | 3.07% | 2.26% | 3.14% |
| 26 | Washington | 8.33% | $5,174 | 2.64% | 0.00% | 5.68% |
| 27 | Colorado | 8.25% | $4,855 | 2.74% | 2.24% | 3.26% |
| 28 | Utah | 8.19% | $3,842 | 2.28% | 2.69% | 3.22% |
| 29 | Oregon | 8.19% | $4,209 | 3.02% | 4.12% | 1.04% |
| 30 | New Mexico | 8.19% | $3,407 | 2.00% | 1.44% | 4.75% |
| 31 | Arizona | 8.16% | $3,630 | 2.52% | 1.42% | 4.21% |
| 32 | Indiana | 8.12% | $3,844 | 2.18% | 2.04% | 3.90% |
| 33 | Nevada | 8.11% | $4,048 | 2.09% | 0.00% | 6.03% |
| 34 | Texas | 8.08% | $4,123 | 3.86% | 0.00% | 4.22% |
| 35 | North Carolina | 8.06% | $3,725 | 2.15% | 2.63% | 3.28% |
| 36 | Virginia | 7.86% | $4,545 | 2.93% | 2.86% | 2.06% |
| 37 | Missouri | 7.85% | $3,695 | 2.28% | 2.40% | 3.17% |
| 38 | Georgia | 7.84% | $3,678 | 2.57% | 2.36% | 2.91% |
| 39 | Idaho | 7.78% | $3,461 | 2.29% | 2.35% | 3.14% |
| 40 | North Dakota | 7.78% | $4,327 | 2.95% | 0.87% | 3.95% |
| 41 | South Carolina | 7.42% | $3,259 | 2.76% | 1.99% | 2.68% |
| 42 | Alabama | 7.37% | $3,147 | 1.40% | 1.94% | 4.03% |
| 43 | Montana | 7.36% | $3,540 | 3.55% | 2.54% | 1.26% |
| 44 | South Dakota | 7.35% | $3,853 | 3.01% | 0.00% | 4.34% |
| 45 | Oklahoma | 7.19% | $3,295 | 1.68% | 1.93% | 3.58% |
| 46 | Florida | 6.86% | $3,489 | 2.70% | 0.00% | 4.16% |
| 47 | New Hampshire | 6.83% | $4,192 | 5.47% | 0.13% | 1.24% |
| 48 | Delaware | 6.17% | $3,260 | 1.76% | 3.23% | 1.18% |
| 49 | Wyoming | 6.11% | $3,709 | 3.32% | 0.00% | 2.80% |
| 50 | Tennessee | 5.70% | $2,694 | 1.69% | 0.08% | 3.93% |
| 51 | Alaska | 5.04% | $3,030 | 3.64% | 0.00% | 1.40% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances
While most states rely on some combination of these three tax levies, residents in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming pay no income tax.
Other states, like North Dakota, rely heavily on so-called severance taxes. Severance taxes are taxes on the extraction and production of non-renewable natural resources (e.g. oil and natural gas from fracking) intended for out-of-state consumption. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 34 states — including North Carolina — collect severance taxes.
