💰 How U.S. States Make Money

What We’re Showing

A U.S. map color-coded by the largest source of tax revenues: personal income, sales, or other taxes. Data was sourced from Pew Research (2023).

Other taxes include levies on corporate income, licenses, property, and severance taxes. Visit the data tab for a % breakdown of each category per state.

Key Takeaways

• A vast majority of states raise most of their tax revenue through general and selective sales taxes.
• For states where resident median incomes are high—like California, New York, Utah, and Massachusetts—personal income taxes are the largest source of tax revenue.
• Seven states raise money through other means like taxing corporate income (New Hampshire) or property (Vermont). License dues (Delaware) or severance tax (Alaska) are also key sources of state income.

Data Footnotes

New Hampshire and Washington report capital gains and dividends collections under personal income tax. Oregon reports corporate activity taxes under sales tax.