Take-Home Pay by State

Take-home (net) pay starts with your gross salary, then subtracts four major buckets: federal income tax, state income tax, FICA payroll taxes, and any pre-tax retirement contributions like a traditional 401(k).

Federal income tax uses progressive brackets (10% / 12% / 22% / 24% / 32% / 35% / 37% in 2024 for single filers) applied to taxable income — gross minus the standard deduction ($14,600 single in 2024) and any pre-tax 401(k) contribution. Married-filing-jointly brackets are roughly double.

State income tax is layered on top. Nine states have no wage income tax — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire (wages), South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming — which can mean 5–10% more take-home pay than a high-tax state at the same gross salary.

FICA is two flat federal payroll taxes: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to $168,600 (2024 cap) and 1.45% Medicare with no cap. Combined that's 7.65% off the top before any other tax.

$100,000 gross, 5% pre-tax 401(k) ($5,000), single filer, standard deduction ($14,600). Taxable income for federal purposes: $80,400. Federal tax: about $13,041. FICA: $7,650.

California (~9.3% effective top-marginal): state tax on $95,000 net-of-401k ≈ $8,835. Total tax burden ≈ $29,526. Take-home ≈ $65,474 a year, or $2,518 every two weeks.

Texas (0%): no state tax. Total tax burden ≈ $20,691. Take-home ≈ $74,309 a year, or $2,858 every two weeks — about $8,800/year more than California for the same gross.

New York (~6.85%): state tax ≈ $6,508. Take-home ≈ $67,801 — between TX and CA, but closer to CA at higher incomes due to NYC local tax (not modeled here; subtract another 3–4% if you live in the city).

0% (no wage income tax): AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY. These nine states fund operations through sales tax, property tax, and severance taxes instead.

Low (under 4%): IN, ND, AZ, OH, PA. Often flat-rate, simple to model.

Mid (4–6%): KY, OK, NC, MI, IL, CO, MA, AR, UT, MS, MO, NM, OR (only on lower brackets), KS, IA, RI, GA, WV, AL, WI, NE, MT, VT, DE.

High (6–8%): NY, NJ, ME, SC, CT, MD, VA, LA-effective with local.

Very high (8%+): CA, HI, OR (top), DC. Plus NYC and other localities can add 3–4% on top.

Local income taxes (NYC, Yonkers, Philadelphia wage tax, parts of Ohio, Indiana, Maryland) — these can add 1–4% and materially change the picture in big metros.

Married-filing-jointly or head-of-household brackets. The federal calculation here uses single-filer brackets; MFJ taxpayers will owe meaningfully less at the same gross.

Itemized deductions, dependent credits, and the Saver's Credit. These can lower federal tax by hundreds to thousands of dollars.

State tax progressivity — most states have brackets too, not just a flat rate. The simplified rate in this tool is approximately your effective state rate at typical middle-class incomes.

Pre-tax health insurance, FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits. Each one reduces both federal and FICA wages and can boost take-home by 1–3%.