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Half the Burden

WalletHub released its annual state tax burden rankings today. New Hampshire came in 49th out of 50, meaning the second-lowest total tax burden in the United States. Granite Staters pay 5.38% of their personal income in state and local taxes. Only Alaska, at 4.92%, is lower.

Next door in Vermont, the number is 11.10%. More than double. Maine is 10.01%. Connecticut is 9.00%. Massachusetts is 8.82%. Rhode Island is 9.29%. Every single New England neighbor imposes a significantly heavier tax burden on its residents than New Hampshire does.

The New England Tax Divide

WalletHub's methodology is straightforward. It takes three categories of state and local taxes: property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes. It calculates each as a percentage of total personal income in the state. Add them up and you get the total tax burden.

Here is what that looks like across New England.

State	Rank	Total	Property	Income	Sales/Excise
New Hampshire	49	5.38%	4.33%	0.13%	0.91%
Massachusetts	21	8.82%	3.33%	3.45%	2.04%
Connecticut	17	9.00%	3.66%	2.69%	2.65%
Rhode Island	10	9.29%	3.67%	2.16%	3.47%
Maine	5	10.01%	3.95%	2.71%	3.35%
Vermont	3	11.10%	4.89%	2.75%	3.46%

Source: WalletHub, 2026 Tax Burden by State. Rank: 1 = highest burden, 50 = lowest.

Vermont ranks 3rd highest in the nation. Maine ranks 5th. Rhode Island 10th. Connecticut 17th. Massachusetts 21st. New Hampshire is 49th. The gap between New Hampshire and its nearest New England neighbor (Massachusetts) is 3.44 percentage points. The gap between New Hampshire and Vermont is 5.72 points.

To put that in dollars: for a household earning $100,000, New Hampshire's tax burden is roughly $5,380. In Vermont, that same household faces $11,100. In Maine, $10,010. These are not small differences. They compound every year.

Where the Money Goes

The breakdown by tax type explains how New Hampshire pulls it off. The state has no income tax and no general sales tax. It is the only state in America with neither. That combination is the engine behind the low total burden.

Property taxes are high. At 4.33% of personal income, New Hampshire ranks 3rd in the nation for property tax burden, behind only Vermont (4.89%) and New Jersey (4.38%). Critics point to this number constantly. But it is a misleading stat in isolation. Property taxes are the price of not having an income tax or a sales tax. Even with the 3rd highest property taxes in America, the total burden is still the 2nd lowest. The math works.

On sales and excise taxes, New Hampshire ranks dead last at 0.91%. That is the lowest in the country. No other state is even close among those without a sales tax. Wyoming, also with no income tax, has a sales and excise burden of 3.28%. Texas comes in at 4.27%. New Hampshire's lean excise tax profile keeps the total number low.

The 0.13% income tax figure reflects residual collections from New Hampshire's now-eliminated interest and dividends tax. That tax was fully repealed effective January 1, 2025. Next year's data will show zero.

The Partisan Pattern

WalletHub noted that "red states have a lower tax burden than blue states, on average." The data makes it hard to argue otherwise.

10 Highest Tax Burden
Rank	State	Burden
1	Hawaii	13.30%
2	New York	12.39%
3	Vermont	11.10%
4	New Mexico	10.75%
5	Maine	10.01%
6	Illinois	9.92%
7	Maryland	9.70%
8	New Jersey	9.52%
9	Oregon	9.46%
10	Rhode Island	9.29%

10 Lowest Tax Burden
Rank	State	Burden
50	Alaska	4.92%
49	New Hampshire	5.38%
48	Tennessee	6.21%
47	Florida	6.27%
46	Delaware	6.28%
45	South Dakota	6.38%
44	Wyoming	6.70%
43	North Dakota	7.02%
42	Idaho	7.04%
41	Oklahoma	7.05%

Source: WalletHub, 2026 Tax Burden by State

All 10 of the highest-burden states voted blue in the last presidential election. Nine of the 10 lowest-burden states are red or red-leaning. The only exception is Delaware. The correlation between political control and tax burden is nearly perfect.

The Bottom Line

This data arrives at a useful time. Proposals for a New Hampshire income tax surface every legislative session. Proponents argue that property taxes are too high and an income tax would bring relief. The WalletHub data shows what actually happens in states that took that deal.

Vermont has an income tax, a sales tax, and the highest property tax burden in the country. Its total burden is 11.10%. Connecticut introduced an income tax in 1991 that was supposed to reduce property taxes. Today it has the 8th highest property tax burden and the 17th highest total burden. Adding taxes did not reduce the existing ones. It never does.

New Hampshire's approach is different. No income tax. No sales tax. Local control over property taxes. The result: a total tax burden of 5.38%, second only to Alaska. The #1 taxpayer ROI in the country for 11 years running. Lowest poverty. Lowest crime. Top-tier schools.

The numbers are not close. They are not ambiguous. Half the burden. Better results.