Compare Paycheck by State Calculator
Enter your salary once and see your take-home pay in all 50 states and DC at the same time. Everyone pays the same federal tax and FICA, so what changes your net paycheck from state to state is state income tax plus any state disability and paid-leave payroll taxes — things like California SDI, Rhode Island TDI, or Washington’s PFML. This shows how much more (or less) you’d keep if the same job were in another state. A rough estimate, not exact withholding.
Example: Gross annual pay $80,000 · Your state California · Filing status Single → Annual take-home: $60,707 ($5,059/mo) in California, after federal tax, FICA, state income tax, and California SDI. The same salary in Texas takes home $65,110 — $4,403 more.
- Annual take-home (California)$60,707
- Highest state (Texas)$65,110
- If you moved to Texas+$4,403/yr
Computed by the calculator below using its default values. Change any input to see your own numbers.
A 401(k) lowers income tax only; health premiums and HSA/FSA also lower FICA.
Where your paycheck goes
Take-home pay in every state
Greener states leave you with more take-home pay; redder states with less. Tap any state to open its full paycheck calculator. Source: NumberBench 2026 federal & state tax engine, incl. state disability & paid-leave payroll taxes.
Every state, ranked
All 51 jurisdictions ranked for the selected view. Your state is highlighted. Bar color matches the map above.
Full comparison table
| # | State | Take-home | Income tax | Disability/leave | vs you |
|---|
Ranked by annual take-home pay. “Disability/leave” is the state’s employee TDI/SDI/PFML tax. Click any row to open that state’s paycheck calculator.
📍 Thinking of moving for a bigger paycheck? Compare movers and mortgage rates
Check it outWhy your paycheck changes when you move
Two people earning the same salary can take home thousands of dollars apart, purely because of where they live. The federal income tax brackets, the standard deduction, and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) are set nationally, so they are identical in Seattle and Miami and Boise. What differs is state income tax and, in a handful of states, a mandatory employee payroll tax for disability or paid family & medical leave. Seven states — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming — take nothing out of your wages at all, which is why they sit at the top of the ranking. The rest range from low flat income-tax rates to steep progressive brackets past 10%, sometimes with a disability or paid-leave contribution layered on top.
That layer is easy to miss. Washington has no income tax, yet it withholds for Paid Family & Medical Leave and WA Cares, so it lands behind the true no-tax states. California adds SDI on every dollar of wages; Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, Oregon, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, and Delaware each add their own. Change the state and only those state-specific lines move — the map, chart, and table update to show what the same pay would leave you with everywhere else. The bigger your income, the bigger the spread.
A higher take-home isn’t always a raise
Before you pack a moving truck, remember that a no-income-tax state often makes the money back elsewhere. Texas and New Hampshire have some of the highest property taxes in the country; Washington and Nevada lean on sales tax; Florida homeowners face steep insurance premiums. Take-home pay is one input into a much larger cost-of-living decision. Use the Cost of Living & Taxes by State map to weigh property tax, sales tax, housing, insurance, and more against the paycheck gains you see here.
Compare a specific state
How it’s calculated
For each state we run the same paycheck. Federal income tax uses the 2026 brackets and standard deduction for your filing status. FICA is 6.2% Social Security up to the $184,500 wage cap plus 1.45% Medicare, and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above $200,000 single / $250,000 joint. State income tax uses that state’s 2026 brackets and standard deduction — nine states levy none. We then add each state’s mandatory employee payroll taxes for disability and paid family & medical leave — for example California SDI (1.30%, no wage cap), Rhode Island TDI (1.10%), New Jersey TDI + FLI, New York PFL + DBL, and Washington PFML + WA Cares. Most states have none; Maryland’s program is delayed to 2027 and DC’s is employer-funded, so both are $0.
Pre-tax deductions are handled by type: 401(k)/403(b) contributions lower your federal and state income tax but not FICA; health-insurance premiums and HSA/FSA contributions (Section 125) lower income tax and FICA. Take-home is gross pay minus every tax minus your pre-tax deductions.
Results update as you type and are estimates, not professional advice. State disability/paid-leave figures are the 2026 employee shares applied to gross wages; local city income taxes, tax credits, and other withholdings are not included. Verify important decisions with a qualified professional.
Sources: IRS (2026 federal brackets & standard deduction); Social Security Administration (FICA rates & $184,500 wage cap); Tax Foundation (2026 state income tax brackets); state agencies for 2026 disability & paid-leave employee rates (CA EDD, RI DLT, NJ DOL, NY PFL, WA ESD & WA Cares, Paid Leave Oregon, MA/CT/CO/ME/MN/DE programs, HI DLIR).
Common mistakes
- Assuming a no-income-tax state has zero paycheck deductions — Washington still withholds PFML and WA Cares, and California’s SDI applies to every dollar of wages.
- Comparing states on the income-tax rate instead of take-home dollars — brackets, deductions, and disability/leave taxes all change the result.
- Treating the flat estimate as exact withholding — your W-4, credits, and local taxes still apply.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the highest take-home pay?
On the same salary, the states with no income tax and no employee disability/paid-leave tax leave you with the most: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. Washington has no income tax but does levy PFML and WA Cares on employees, so it lands just behind them.
Does this include state disability and paid-leave taxes like TDI?
Yes. Where a state requires an employee contribution for disability or paid family & medical leave — such as California SDI, Rhode Island TDI, New Jersey TDI + FLI, New York PFL, or Washington PFML + WA Cares — we apply the 2026 employee rate. Most states have no such tax. Maryland’s program is delayed to 2027 and DC’s is employer-funded, so both are $0 here.
How do the pre-tax deductions work?
Enter your annual 401(k)/403(b), health-insurance premiums, and HSA/FSA amounts. A 401(k) lowers your federal and state income tax but not FICA; health premiums and HSA/FSA contributions also lower FICA. All three reduce your taxable income and the cash you take home.
Is this exact?
No — it applies the real 2026 federal and state brackets, standard deductions, and state disability/paid-leave rates for your filing status, but actual withholding also depends on your W-4, credits, local city taxes, and how your employer splits certain premiums.