Oklahoma turns out to be a great home for people who cringe at the thought of giving their money to local government.
A recent study by personal finance website WalletHub found Oklahoma ranked No. 45 nationally in total tax burden as a percentage of personal income. In plainer speak, state residents pay little in state taxes for the wages they earn.
The study looked at state property tax, individual income tax and sales tax in all 50 states and compared those rates to average state incomes.
New Yorkers, Hawaiians and Mainers find themselves facing the largest tax burden, according to the metric. Residents of Alaska, Delaware and Tennessee carry the smallest loads.
Oklahoma ranked last with the least amount of property tax. Its burden is just 1.42 percent. The highest in the category was New Jersey with 5.41 percent.
The Sooner State also found itself low on the income tax burden list, as it takes 1.8 percent of the average income. New York tops that list, taking 4.76 percent.
The state’s spot near the bottom of the tax burden chart is unsurprising, considering its recent political history. WalletHub found that red states had an average tax burden rank of 32 while the average rank for a blue state was about 19.
Whether that light state burden is something to celebrate or bemoan in the face of statewide budget cuts, however, is a tangential question for another day.
Print headline: Least of burden
