The same income in two different states, priced side by side for 2026 — federal tax and FICA are identical in both columns, so the whole contest is the state layer: brackets, deductions, credits and local add-ons, computed by the same verified engine as every state paycheck page here.
This comparator uses state-level tax only. Where a city layer exists, it sits on top — the dedicated New York City paycheck calculator shows that full picture.
State tax difference (B − A): -$5,070. Federal tax and FICA cancel out — they are the same in both states at the same income.
take-home on $100,000
| Federal income tax | $13,170 |
| FICA (Social Security + Medicare) | $7,650 |
| State tax (all-in) | $5,070 |
| Effective rate, all taxes | 25.9% |
take-home on $100,000
| Federal income tax | $13,170 |
| FICA (Social Security + Medicare) | $7,650 |
| State tax (all-in) | $0 |
| Effective rate, all taxes | 20.8% |
Federal brackets, the standard deduction, Social Security and Medicare do not care where you live. Everything in the difference column comes from the states: whether there is an income tax at all, the brackets and top rate, the standard deduction and exemptions, credits, and — in a few places — county or city layers that this comparator deliberately leaves to the dedicated local pages.
Source: the verified 2026 state engine — IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 federal layer, state schedules as on the paycheck calculators.
Flat-tax states beat progressive states by more as income rises; no-tax states win everywhere but by wildly different amounts; and at lower incomes, generous standard deductions can make a taxing state cheaper than its reputation. Run your real salary, not the default — and try your filing status, which moves some states' brackets more than others.
Source: the same engine, run at your figures.
Take-home is not cost of living: housing, property tax, sales tax and insurance routinely dwarf the income-tax gap on this page. The sales-tax and property-tax families on this site price those layers state by state; this page's job is the income-tax line, priced exactly.
Source: asadwebs state tax programme — see the hub pages linked below.
At most incomes, the no-income-tax states tie at the top (their state column is $0), and the ranking page orders everyone else. But the interesting comparisons are between taxing states — a flat 4% can beat a "low" progressive schedule at high incomes and lose at moderate ones. This comparator exists for exactly those pairs.
State-level tax only. New York City, Philadelphia, Ohio and Kentucky local taxes and Maryland/Indiana county taxes have their own pages in the local-taxes family; where a city layer applies it is on top of the state figure here.
Because they are: federal income tax and payroll taxes are national. If a comparison site shows different federal numbers for different states at the same income and status, its model is wrong, not interesting.
The ranking page (states ranked by take-home pay) prices all 51 on one income; this page is the deep head-to-head: full splits for two states at once, with the paycheck calculators linked for the complete per-state picture.
Compare take-home pay between any two states for 2026 on the same income: at $100,000 single, Texas keeps $79,180 against California's $74,110 — a $5,070 difference, all of it in the state layer. Full federal, FICA and state split for both.
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A head-to-head take-home comparator for 2026: pick an income, a filing status and two states, and see the full federal, FICA and state split for each — and exactly what the state layer costs or saves.
On the default — $100,000, single, California against Texas — Texas keeps $5,070 more a year; federal tax and FICA are identical in both columns, so the gap is purely the state layer.
The comparator runs the same verified engine as the 51 state paycheck calculators, so its numbers agree with theirs to the dollar.
Federal income tax and FICA are national — same income, same status, same numbers, wherever you live. Only the state layer differs.
California against Texas and New York against Florida — both are presets on the page.
No — income tax only. Those layers are priced in their own families on this site.
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