Analysis: Democrat trifecta dominates America’s 11 highest-tax states

A new analysis of state tax burdens reveals the top 11 states extracting the highest share of personal income from their residents are governed by a Democrat trifecta.

The report also shows Republicans dominate the trifecta in the lowest-taxing states.

A trifecta is defined as a state where one party controls the governorship and both chambers of the legislature simultaneously.

The finding comes from a 2026 WalletHub report ranking all 50 states by percentage of total personal income.

The taxes ranked include property taxes, individual income taxes and sales and excise taxes.

“It’s easy to be dismayed at tax time when you see just how much of your income you lose,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst. “Living in a state with a low tax burden can alleviate some of that stress.”

Ironically, vacation paradise Hawaii leads the nation with a combined tax burden of 13.30% of personal income, the report said.

New York follows at 12.39%, then Vermont at 11.10%, New Mexico at 10.75%, Maine at 10.01%, Illinois at 9.92%, Maryland at 9.70%, New Jersey at 9.52%, Oregon at 9.46%, Rhode Island at 9.29%, and California at 9.24%.

According to Ballotpedia’s current trifecta tracker, each of those 11 states has a Democrat governor and Democrat majorities in both legislative chambers.

The pattern holds in the opposite direction as well.

Nine of the 11 lowest-tax-burden states enjoy a GOP trifecta.

Alaska is the lowest at 4.92%, with a divided government, while Delaware ranks fifth at 6.28%, with a Democrat trifecta.

Both Alaska and Delaware are a little exceptional, however.

Alaska derives a great deal of state income from oil and gas sales, and Delaware generates 25%-30% of its state income from corporate fees because of the tax breaks it offers companies that domicile legally in Delaware.

From the lowest taxes upward, the rest of the WalletHub report lists New Hampshire at 5.38%, Tennessee at 6.21%, Florida at 6.27%, South Dakota at 6.38%, Wyoming at 6.70%, North Dakota at 7.02%, Idaho at 7.04%, and Oklahoma at 7.05%.

Each is a Republican trifecta state.

The real-world cost of the high tax burden is increasingly visible in population trends.

Among the 10 states experiencing the greatest inbound migration, the average top personal income tax rate stands at 3.5%, said IMI Daily, a publication tracking migration trends.

The bottom 10 states average more than double that rate, at 7.2%.

U-Haul’s 2025 migration data, compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way rental transactions, shows Texas – about 15^th in the lowest tax burden – leading the nation in inbound moves for the seventh time in a decade, The Lion reported in January.

California remains at the bottom for migration for an unprecedented sixth consecutive year, with Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts joining it among states experiencing the most significant outbound migration.

“Recent data indicate that the nine states without a personal income tax have experienced some of the highest net migration and GDP growth rates over the last decade,” said Andrew Burnstine, an associate professor at Lynn University.

A 2026 report suggests phasing out state income taxes could increase total GDP by 1.6% by encouraging new startups and attracting high earners, Burnstine added.

On the other hand, the financial bleed for states losing population because of taxes is substantial.

In the last decade, New York lost $111 billion in personal income to interstate migration, California lost $102 billion and Illinois lost $63 billion, according to the National Taxpayer Union Foundation.

Florida, by comparison, gained $196 billion in personal income over the same period.

The revenue loss compounds year over year, and a steady outflow of residents to other states represents not a one-time loss but a structural shortfall.

“Revenue outcomes from interstate migration are cumulative,” the foundation said. “California loses $4.5 billion from excessive out-migration not just this year, but next year and every year thereafter.”

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-South Carolina and member of the House Freedom Caucus, ripped proposals from Democrat states trying to balance the books by taxing high-income earners to replace the tax dollars they’ve already chased out of state.

“Think about that – higher taxes to pay for something that is pretty much self-inflicted by all the states that don’t have their financials in order,” Norman told Fox News Digital.

The 11 states at the top of WalletHub’s rankings represent roughly 30% of the U.S. population.

Their residents, on average, hand over more than 10 cents of every dollar they earn to state and local governments.

Without exception, all of the states are run by one party.