Illinois Has The Highest Taxes In America, Says New Study

If you've lived here in Illinois for any significant length of time, you already know that you're paying a lot in taxes of all sorts. But did you know that our state was taking this much from you?

It probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, especially if you've read some of the studies that have been published about Illinois' problem with people leaving the state in droves (also known as "outbound migration.").

When asked why the decision was made to move out of Illinois, the answer that is given more than any other over the last ten years by people heading for our borders has been "because of the taxes." One of my favorite replies over the years was by a woman who was asked where she was moving to get a lower tax burden. "Anywhere but here," was the response.

Personal finance website WalletHub decided to look into the tax burdens imposed on citizens from every state in the Union (and Washington, DC), and their numbers show that "anywhere but here" statement is an accurate one.

In their piece "States with the Highest & Lowest Tax Rates," WalletHub highlights the states with the most and least to complain about when it comes to taxes. As you've no doubt gleaned from the headline, Illinoisan have the most to grind their teeth over.

Here's what WalletHub looked for to make their determinations:

WalletHub searched for answers by comparing state and local tax rates in the 50 states and the District of Columbia against national medians. To illustrate, we calculated relative income-tax obligations by applying the effective income-tax rates in each state and locality to the average American’s income.

Before we get to Illinois' less-than-stellar numbers, here are the 3 states with the lowest tax rates:

1. Alaska (effective total local and state tax rates on a median household: 5.84%)
2. Delaware (6.25%)
3. Montana (7.11%)

As for Illinois, we come in at #51, behind Connecticut and New York. Illinois' effective total local and state tax rates on a median household is 15.01%, while Connecticut's is 14.84%, and New York's is 14.08%.