Rankings

Where Does Your State Rank?

Pick your state to see how it ranks against all 50 states and DC.

State gas tax

Approximate total state gasoline tax in cents per gallon — excise plus other state taxes and fees on fuel, excluding the 18.4¢ federal tax that every state pays on top. Rounded to the nearest cent.

lowest 5

  1. #1Alaska9¢/gal
  2. #2Arizona18¢/gal
  3. #2Mississippi18¢/gal
  4. #4New Mexico19¢/gal
  5. #5Louisiana20¢/gal

highest 5

  1. #51California68¢/gal
  2. #50Illinois66¢/gal
  3. #49Pennsylvania59¢/gal
  4. #48Indiana56¢/gal
  5. #47Washington52¢/gal

Source: American Petroleum Institute motor fuel tax reports and state revenue departments (2025).

Sales tax

State sales tax plus the population-weighted average local rate — what shoppers actually pay at the register.

lowest 5

  1. #1Delaware0.00%
  2. #1Montana0.00%
  3. #1New Hampshire0.00%
  4. #1Oregon0.00%
  5. #5Alaska1.82%

highest 5

  1. #51Louisiana10.13%
  2. #50Tennessee9.61%
  3. #49Washington9.57%
  4. #48Arkansas9.48%
  5. #47Alabama9.46%

Source: Tax Foundation (July 2026).

Minimum wage

What a worker covered by federal labor law is actually paid at minimum — the state rate, or the $7.25 federal floor where that is higher.

highest 5

  1. #1District of Columbia$18.40/hr
  2. #2Washington$17.13/hr
  3. #3Connecticut$16.94/hr
  4. #4California$16.90/hr
  5. #5Hawaii$16.00/hr

lowest 5

  1. #32Wyoming$7.25/hr
  2. #32Wisconsin$7.25/hr
  3. #32Utah$7.25/hr
  4. #32Texas$7.25/hr
  5. #32Tennessee$7.25/hr

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (July 2026).

Median household income

Median annual income for a household in the state — half of households earn more, half earn less.

highest 5

  1. #1Maryland$101,652
  2. #2Massachusetts$101,341
  3. #3New Jersey$101,050
  4. #4Hawaii$98,317
  5. #5New Hampshire$96,838

lowest 5

  1. #50Mississippi$55,060
  2. #49Arkansas$58,700
  3. #48West Virginia$60,410
  4. #47Louisiana$60,414
  5. #46Alabama$62,212

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2023).

Unemployment rate

Share of the labor force that is out of work and actively looking, seasonally adjusted. People who have stopped looking are not counted.

lowest 5

  1. #1South Dakota2.0%
  2. #2North Dakota2.2%
  3. #3Vermont2.6%
  4. #4Hawaii2.7%
  5. #5New Hampshire2.8%

highest 5

  1. #51District of Columbia5.9%
  2. #49Oregon5.2%
  3. #49Connecticut5.2%
  4. #48California5.1%
  5. #46Washington5.0%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (July 2026).

All states

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingDistrict of Columbia

Pick your state to see how it ranks against all 50 states and DC on four numbers that show up in your budget: sales tax, gas tax, minimum wage, and what a typical household earns.

Every figure links back to its official source with the date it was published, because these numbers move and a ranking is only as good as its vintage.

Combined sales tax, not just the state rate

The sales tax ranked here is the state rate plus the population-weighted average local rate, because that is what you actually pay at the register. Ranking the state rate alone would mislead in both directions: Alabama's 4% state rate is among the lowest in the country while its combined 9.46% is among the highest, and Alaska has no state sales tax at all yet its localities average 1.82%.

Minimum wage means what workers actually get

Georgia and Wyoming both have statutes setting $5.15 an hour, and five states have no minimum wage law at all. In every one of those cases, employers covered by federal labor law must pay the $7.25 federal floor, so that is the figure ranked. Quoting the state statute instead would be true of the law and false of essentially every paycheck.

Why gas tax and not gas prices

Gas tax is a real, published, per-state number, so ranking it is meaningful. Retail gas prices are not: the federal Energy Information Administration publishes a direct weekly price for only nine states, and the rest fall back to a broad regional average. Ranking on that would produce about five distinct values dressed up as fifty, so Alto shows current prices on the gas price pages and ranks only the tax here.

How ties are handled

Ties are common rather than exceptional — twenty states sit at the federal minimum wage, and many share identical gas tax rates. Tied states share a rank and the next distinct value skips ahead, the same convention used in sport. Where a state is tied, the page says so rather than picking an arbitrary order between equals.

A rank is not a verdict

None of these figures are adjusted for cost of living, which varies enough between states to reverse some of these comparisons outright. Income and property taxes are not ranked here either, so a state can look cheap on sales and fuel tax while taking more overall. Rate also is not the whole story on sales tax: states differ enormously in what they tax, and most exempt groceries.

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State Rankings — Frequently Asked Questions

Which state has the highest sales tax?
Louisiana has the highest combined state and average local sales tax at about 10.13%, followed by Tennessee, Washington, Arkansas, and Alabama. California has the highest state-level rate on its own at 7.25%.
Which states have no sales tax?
Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have no sales tax at any level. Alaska has no statewide sales tax but allows local ones, which average about 1.82%.
Which state has the highest minimum wage?
The District of Columbia has the highest at $18.40 an hour, followed by Washington at $17.13 and Connecticut at $16.94. Twenty states sit at the $7.25 federal floor.
Which state has the highest gas tax?
California has the highest total state gasoline tax, followed by Illinois and Pennsylvania. Alaska has the lowest by a wide margin. Every state also pays the 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax on top of its own rate.
Is Washington DC included?
DC is ranked on sales tax, gas tax, and minimum wage, where it has published figures. It is omitted from the median household income ranking because the Census state-level income table used here covers the 50 states only.

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