What Americans in Every State Will Pay in Taxes Over a Lifetime

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Self.

The U.S. government collects over $5.3 trillion in taxes each year, but how much will the average American pay in taxes throughout their lifetime?

We used the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ expenditure numbers to see what we as Americans were spending each day to work out what taxes we would be paying until we’re no longer able to contribute financially. It’s a lot.

We’ve analyzed this data specific to each state so you can see what you may be giving to your government in taxes across your entire life.

Key statistics

• The average American will pay $525,037 in taxes throughout their lifetime.
• That’s an average of 34.3% of all lifetime earnings spent on taxes.
• Residents of New Jersey will pay the most in lifetime taxes and people in West Virginia will pay the least.
• Tax on earnings is where most tax will come from, with the average American paying $339,173 in a lifetime.
• Owning a car will cost an additional $29,521 in tax payments alone.
• Tax on property will set you back an additional $128,581 above the property price and maintenance.
• Taxpayers in California will pay the most on everyday expenses ($40,084), followed by New Yorkers ($39,745).

Now, let’s take a look state by state.

1. New Jersey

Lifetime taxes: $931,698

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 49.51%

2. Massachusetts

Lifetime taxes: $827,185

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 43.96%

3. Connecticut

Lifetime taxes: $805,213

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 42.79%

4. Washington, D.C.

Lifetime taxes: $789,934

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 35.49%

5. New Hampshire

Lifetime taxes: $778,837

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 45.99%

6. Rhode Island

Lifetime taxes: $766,521

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 46.73%

7. New York

Lifetime taxes: $734,563

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 43.80%

8. California

Lifetime taxes: $710,882

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 44.98%

9. Maryland

Lifetime taxes: $699,586

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 37.37%

10. Illinois

Lifetime taxes: $693,792

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 42.87%

11. Washington

Lifetime taxes: $692,563

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 41.43%

12. Alaska

Lifetime taxes: $680,624

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.06%

13. Vermont

Lifetime taxes: $664,357

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 43.14%

14. Minnesota

Lifetime taxes: $649,130

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 39.52%

15. Virginia

Lifetime taxes: $646,140

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 39.80%

16. Colorado

Lifetime taxes: $626,020

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 39.39%

17. Wisconsin

Lifetime taxes: $607,563

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 40.95%

18. Pennsylvania

Lifetime taxes: $597,167

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 39.00%

19. Iowa

Lifetime taxes: $566,352

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.79%

20. Utah

Lifetime taxes: $566,216

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.16%

21. Ohio

Lifetime taxes: $561,142

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.44%

22. North Dakota

Lifetime taxes: $558,690

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 36.95%

23. Michigan

Lifetime taxes: $558,015

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 38.02%

24. Wyoming

Lifetime taxes: $547,861

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 35.50%

25. Hawaii

Lifetime taxes: $535,385

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 35.41%

26. Delaware

Lifetime taxes: $508,182

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 31.40%

27. Texas

Lifetime taxes: $473,007

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 32.60%

28. Maine

Lifetime taxes: $468,370

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 33.28%

29. Nebraska

Lifetime taxes: $458,304

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 31.68%

30. Kansas

Lifetime taxes: $430,014

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.86%

31. Oregon

Lifetime taxes: $423,466

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.41%

32. Arizona

Lifetime taxes: $420,603

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.41%

33. Missouri

Lifetime taxes: $412,658

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.79%

34. Nevada

Lifetime taxes: $409,712

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 30.68%

35. South Dakota

Lifetime taxes: $387,013

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.49%

36. Georgia

Lifetime taxes: $380,875

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 27.02%

37. Florida

Lifetime taxes: $378,184

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.13%

38. Idaho

Lifetime taxes: $372,064

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 29.13%

39. Indiana

Lifetime taxes: $366,957

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.14%

40. North Carolina

Lifetime taxes: $362,634

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 27.16%

41. South Carolina

Lifetime taxes: $354,054

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 27.27%

42. Tennessee

Lifetime taxes: $347,826

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.50%

43. Kentucky

Lifetime taxes: $346,778

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.10%

44. New Mexico

Lifetime taxes: $346,510

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.74%

45. Mississippi

Lifetime taxes: $344,036

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 28.60%

46. Oklahoma

Lifetime taxes: $341,646

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.00%

47. Louisiana

Lifetime taxes: $339,910

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 24.54%

48. Montana

Lifetime taxes: $334,173

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 25.74%

49. Arkansas

Lifetime taxes: $331,023

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 26.65%

50. Alabama

Lifetime taxes: $322,419

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 24.48%

51. West Virginia

Lifetime taxes: $321,023

Percent of lifetime earnings as taxes: 25.13%

Methodology

We used the Consumer Expenditure Report (2019) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to understand the main average household spending habits. We took this data and divided it by 2 to create a personal spending report for one American.

We then took this spending data and applied state-specific taxes on each expenditure. Car property tax and sales tax data was also analyzed at a state level based on the average number of vehicles the average American will own over 60 years and a purchase cost of $25,000.

The tax paid on earnings was based on state-level tax and federal income taxes when applied to the average salaries in each state. While Alaska does not implement a statewide sales tax, it does allow localities to charge local sales taxes, which we have gathered as an average to analyze via the Tax Foundation.

A work life of 36 years was used to analyze income taxes based on data from the study “Total Worklife Expectancy” in the Journal of Forensic Economics. The average number of years in which an individual will pay taxes on expenditures was derived from the age of 18 and the average life expectancy of 79 as dictated by the World Bank.

Inheritance tax was excluded from this study as it was deemed the average American would not have to pay this due to inheritance thresholds not being exceeded. Marriage and its effect on taxes was also not applied to this study as it did not impact taxes in the vast majority of cases representing the average American taxpayer. Data sources include:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics – Consumer Expenditures (2019)
• The Hamilton Project: Occupations and earnings across the U.S. (2018) 
• Journal of Forensic Economics: Total Worklife Expectancy (2014) 
• Tax Foundation – State individual income tax rates and brackets (2020) 
• Tax Foundation – 2021 Federal Tax Brackets 
• SmartAsset – Property Tax Calculator 
• McKendree – How many homes will you own in your lifetime? 
• Bureau of Labor Statistics – Composition of consumer unit 
• World Population Review – Car Sales Tax by State 2020
• DoughRoller – The Surprising Lifetime Cost of Car Ownership 
• Tax Foundation – State and Local Sales Tax Rates 
• Vehicle Property Tax Rates