Take-Home Index 2026

The same salary, fourteen states, four pay levels — ranked by what reaches your bank account, computed by the same engines as our state paycheck calculators, under 2026 rules.

What this index is

Most state comparisons quote tax rates. Rates mislead: a flat 3.07% from the first dollar can cost more than a higher rate that starts after a standard deduction, and some states take payroll premiums nobody calls a tax. So the Take-Home Index runs one identical worker — single filer, no pre-tax deductions, paid every two weeks — through all fourteen states FigWage calculates, at $50,000, $75,000, $100,000 and $150,000, and ranks what comes out. The ranking below is ordered by the $100,000 column; click a salary heading to re-rank by it.

One finding up front: there is no single winner. The nine no-income-tax states tie at the top at every salary, and the five tax states shuffle their order as pay rises and falls. The spread between first and last is real money: $2,330.12 a year at $50,000, growing to $12,625.60 a year at $150,000.

The 2026 ranking

Each cell shows take-home pay per year and, beneath it, the effective total tax rate — the share of salary that never reaches the paycheck. Single filer, every two weeks (26 paychecks), no pre-tax deductions throughout. ^† Washington and ^‡ Alaska take additional paycheck deductions that are not subtracted here — see what these numbers leave out.

How the states cluster

The nine-way tie at the top. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming take no state income tax, so the only money out is federal withholding and FICA — identical math in all nine: $77,287.86 kept on $100,000, an effective rate of 22.71%. But two of the nine take more than tax: Washington deducts Paid Family Leave and WA Cares premiums, Alaska an unemployment contribution — neither subtracted above. Count them and Alaska keeps about $77,016.86 and Washington about $75,897.86 — still ahead of every tax state, but no longer tied.

The flat-tax middle. Pennsylvania (3.07%), North Carolina (3.99%, withheld at 4.09% under the official NC-30 method) and Illinois (4.95%) each take one rate but shelter different amounts first — nothing in Pennsylvania, a $12,750 standard deduction in North Carolina, a $2,925 allowance in Illinois. So their order flips with income: North Carolina's deduction wins at $50,000, Pennsylvania's bare rate wins from $75,000 up, and Illinois — highest rate, smallest shelter — trails the other two throughout.

The bracket pair at the bottom. California and New York run graduated brackets plus payroll add-ons — California's 1.3% SDI and New York's Paid Family Leave are both included above. California finishes last at $75,000 and above but climbs to 12th at $50,000 — its low-income exemption and standard deduction shelter small paychecks, unlike Illinois's flat tax. New York sits 13th throughout on a rest-of-state basis; with city tax it would fall to last (see below).

Ranks are out of all fourteen states; the nine no-tax states share rank 1 at every salary.

What these numbers leave out

Washington's premiums (†). Washington paychecks also lose the employee share of Paid Family & Medical Leave — in 2026 up to about 0.81% of wages — and the WA Cares Fund premium of 0.58% of wages, no cap. Together, up to about 1.39% of pay: roughly $1,390 a year on $100,000. The split depends on your employer, which is why the Washington calculator flags them instead of folding them in.

Alaska's unemployment contribution (‡). Alaska employees contribute 0.50% of wages to unemployment insurance on the first $54,200 of wages — $250 on a $50,000 salary, and the maximum $271 a year at higher salaries here.

Pennsylvania's local tax. Most Pennsylvania municipalities levy a local Earned Income Tax of about 1% of wages (Philadelphia's wage tax is about 3.74% for residents), plus a 0.07% employee unemployment contribution. None of that is in Pennsylvania's row — at 1% it is roughly another $1,000 a year on $100,000.

New York's city taxes. New York is figured here outside New York City and Yonkers — the default on our New York calculator. A city resident on $100,000 keeps $68,338.66 after city tax, below every figure in the table. The optional employee disability (DBL) contribution some employers deduct is also left out.

Cost of living — entirely. This index ranks take-home pay, nothing else. It does not know what rent costs in Austin versus Los Angeles, and it ignores sales and property taxes, which never appear in a paycheck but do appear in a life (Texas's property taxes are the standing example). A bigger paycheck in an expensive state can go less far than a smaller one elsewhere.

How we calculate

Every number comes from the engines behind the fourteen state calculators: IRS Publication 15-T (2026) for federal withholding, California EDD Method B plus SDI, New York Method II plus Paid Family Leave, the official flat-tax methods for Pennsylvania, Illinois (IL-700-T) and North Carolina (NC-30), and no state layer for the other nine. Each state uses its calculator's default form election — one DE 4 regular allowance in California, one IL-W-4 basic allowance, zero NC-4 allowances (the standard there), one IT-2104 exemption in New York. Per-paycheck amounts are rounded to the cent and multiplied by 26, so the index agrees with the state pages to the cent — the $100,000 figures for Texas, California and Pennsylvania are the very numbers those pages publish. Full method notes are on our methodology page; all fourteen calculators sit together on the paycheck calculators by state hub.

Frequently asked questions

Which state has the highest take-home pay in 2026?
Nine states tie for first: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. On $100,000 (single filer, paid every two weeks, no pre-tax deductions) each keeps $77,287.86 a year, an effective total tax rate of 22.71%. Washington's and Alaska's real paychecks land a little lower: those states take premiums and contributions this index does not subtract (see the caveats).

How much more do you keep in Texas than in California on $100,000?
$6,860.36 more a year — $77,287.86 of take-home pay in Texas against $70,427.50 in California, a difference of $263.86 per biweekly paycheck. California's effective rate at that salary is 29.57%, against 22.71% in Texas. The whole gap is California's state income tax plus its 1.3% SDI contribution — the federal layer is identical.

Why do nine states show exactly the same take-home pay?
Because with no state income tax in the way, only the federal layer comes out — IRS withholding on your W-4, plus Social Security and Medicare — and that math is identical in all nine. Real paychecks in Washington and Alaska differ slightly: those states deduct premiums and contributions this index leaves out (see the caveats).

Why does the ranking change at lower salaries?
Because flat rates and standard deductions bite differently as pay falls. At $50,000 North Carolina keeps $39,788.84 and Pennsylvania $39,787.80 — ahead by $1.04 a year, because its standard deduction shelters the first $12,750 while Pennsylvania taxes every dollar at 3.07%. From $75,000 up, Pennsylvania's lower rate wins. California also climbs at lower pay: its low-income exemption shelters small paychecks, so at $50,000 it beats New York and Illinois despite finishing last at $100,000 and above.

Does the New York figure include New York City tax?
No. New York is figured the way our New York calculator does by default — outside New York City and Yonkers, one IT-2104 exemption, Paid Family Leave included. Add city tax and the picture changes sharply: on $100,000 a New York City resident keeps $68,338.66 — last in this table.

Is this a cost-of-living ranking?
No — it ranks take-home pay only: what is left of the same salary after each state's taxes and payroll deductions. It ignores rent, home prices, and the sales and property taxes that never appear in a paycheck but can outweigh a paycheck gap — Texas funds itself more heavily through both than most states. Use it as one honest input to a move or job offer, not the whole answer.

Sources

Federal withholding follows the IRS Publication 15-T (2026). State methods follow each state's official employer publication — California EDD (Method B), New York NYS-50-T, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Illinois Booklet IL-700-T, North Carolina NC-30; see our methodology & sources page. The 2026 Social Security wage base of $184,500 is from the Social Security Administration.

Estimate for general information only — not tax, legal, or financial advice. Figures use 2026 federal and state rules for a single filer with no pre-tax deductions, paid every two weeks. See our methodology & sources.