It’s tax season! Here is a table comparing some of the largest cities by combined income tax of Federal, Social Security & Medicaid (FICA), state, and local. The table assumes:
- $100k annual income (mostly so that the percent that goes to taxes is easy to calculate)
- No dependents
- No deductions or itemization (401k, SALT)
- Taxes are annualized.
- The taxes were copied from Smart Asset’s Paycheck Calculator
- Cities in the list were picked from the top 35 metro areas.
- Does not include any other taxes like property tax or sales tax.
The not so surprising result is that New York City has the highest combined income tax coming in at $33.1k (33.1% of income). Not far behind are Portland, Baltimore, and Philadelphia in that order. I am shocked by how high the taxes are in those cities, especially since they don’t have the reputation of New York. At the low-end low tax cities in Texas, Florida, Nevada and Washington all tied for last place, since they do not have incremental state or local income taxes.
Combined Income Taxes by City
Note: If you are on mobile, you can drag the table right or left to see the Federal, State and Local tax amounts.
| TAX RANK | CITY | TOTAL INCOME TAXES | FEDERAL INCOME TAX + FICA | STATE TAX | LOCAL TAX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY | $33,111 | $24,056 | $5,594 | $3,461 |
| 2 | Portland, OR | $32,041 | $24,056 | $7,985 | $- |
| 3 | Baltimore, MD | $31,593 | $24,056 | $4,503 | $3,034 |
| 4 | Philadelphia, PA | $31,050 | $24,056 | $3,070 | $3,924 |
| 5 | Los Angeles, CA | $30,977 | $24,056 | $6,921 | $- |
| 5 | Riverside, CA | $30,977 | $24,056 | $6,921 | $- |
| 5 | Sacramento, CA | $30,977 | $24,056 | $6,921 | $- |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $30,977 | $24,056 | $6,921 | $- |
| 5 | San Francisco, CA | $30,977 | $24,056 | $6,921 | $- |
| 5 | San Jose, CA | $30,977 | $24,056 | $6,921 | $- |
| 11 | Washington, DC | $30,805 | $24,056 | $6,749 | $- |
| 12 | Detroit, MI | $30,440 | $24,056 | $4,080 | $2,304 |
| 13 | Minneapolis, MN | $30,321 | $24,056 | $6,265 | $- |
| 14 | Columbus, OH | $30,084 | $24,056 | $3,420 | $2,608 |
| 15 | Kansas City, MO | $29,893 | $24,056 | $4,971 | $866 |
| 15 | St. Louis, MO | $29,893 | $24,056 | $4,971 | $866 |
| 16 | Cincinnati, OH | $29,653 | $24,056 | $3,420 | $2,177 |
| 17 | Atlanta, GA | $29,566 | $24,056 | $5,510 | $- |
| 18 | Cleveland, OH | $29,463 | $24,056 | $3,420 | $1,987 |
| 19 | Charlotte, NC | $29,323 | $24,056 | $5,267 | $- |
| 20 | Indianapolis, IN | $29,075 | $24,056 | $3,267 | $1,752 |
| 21 | Boston, MA | $28,830 | $24,056 | $4,774 | $- |
| 22 | Denver, CO | $28,394 | $24,056 | $4,338 | $- |
| 23 | Pittsburgh, PA | $28,126 | $24,056 | $3,070 | $1,000 |
| 24 | Chicago, IL | $27,724 | $24,056 | $3,668 | $- |
| 25 | Phoenix, AZ | $26,756 | $24,056 | $2,700 | $- |
| 26 | Austin, TX | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |
| 26 | Dallas, TX | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |
| 26 | Houston, TX | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |
| 26 | Las Vegas, NV | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |
| 26 | Miami, FL | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |
| 26 | Orlando, FL | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |
| 26 | Tampa, FL | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |
| 26 | San Antonio, TX | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |
| 26 | Seattle, WA | $24,056 | $24,056 | $- | $- |