Tax Burden by City

[Marcu]

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/pf/0704/gallery.tax_friendliest/9.html


See how much you'll play in income, sales and property taxes around the country

Estimated Burden of Major Taxes for a Family of Three Making $100,000


Rank City State Income Property Sales Auto Amount Percent
Median 3,974 2,664 1,521 596 8,684 8.70%
Average 3,992 2,983 1,574 641 8,518 8.50%
1 Bridgeport CT 4,158 11,753 1,467 1,215 18,593 18.60%
2 Philadelphia PA 7,219 2,840 1,333 449 11,841 11.80%
3 Providence RI 2,691 4,998 1,449 1,993 11,130 11.10%
4 New York City NY 6,687 2,342 1,685 339 11,053 11.10%
5 Des Moines IA 4,408 3,694 1,579 776 10,457 10.50%
6 Indianapolis IN 4,202 4,431 1,501 250 10,385 10.40%
7 Baltimore MD 5,835 2,600 1,424 423 10,283 10.30%
8 Portland ME 4,543 3,878 1,054 806 10,281 10.30%
9 Detroit MI 5,957 2,441 1,322 495 10,215 10.20%
10 Washington DC 5,191 2,876 1,446 438 9,951 10.00%
11 Louisville KY 6,348 1,582 1,372 596 9,898 9.90%
12 Columbus OH 5,777 2,131 1,521 436 9,865 9.90%
13 Milwaukee WI 4,552 3,237 1,549 476 9,813 9.80%
14 Burlington VT 2,701 5,382 1,292 351 9,727 9.70%
15 Boston MA 4,401 3,882 772 646 9,701 9.70%
16 Portland OR 6,498 2,784 0 393 9,676 9.70%
17 Atlanta GA 3,733 3,549 1,620 657 9,558 9.60%
18 Omaha NE 3,808 3,188 1,638 817 9,451 9.50%
19 Charlotte NC 4,779 2,226 1,581 801 9,387 9.40%
20 Newark NJ 1,978 5,659 1,299 329 9,265 9.30%
21 Kansas City MO 4,112 2,323 1,718 1,076 9,229 9.20%
22 Minneapolis MN 4,227 3,195 1,352 451 9,226 9.20%
23 Los Angeles CA 2,146 4,650 1,521 895 9,213 9.20%
24 Jackson MS 3,001 2,842 1,974 1,321 9,139 9.10%
25 Boise ID 4,659 2,497 1,343 498 8,997 9.00%
26 Chicago IL 2,649 3,416 2,011 608 8,684 8.70%
27 Little Rock AR 4,028 1,611 2,284 744 8,668 8.70%
28 Charleston WV 4,987 1,124 1,534 931 8,576 8.60%
29 Columbia SC 4,441 1,395 1,457 1,139 8,433 8.40%
30 Oklahoma City OK 4,346 1,659 1,992 400 8,397 8.40%
31 Salt Lake City UT 4,443 1,510 1,706 617 8,276 8.30%
32 Manchester NH 0 7,165 554 547 8,266 8.30%
33 Wichita KS 3,974 1,531 1,576 880 7,961 8.00%
34 Virginia Beach VA 3,920 1,992 1,390 658 7,960 8.00%
35 New Orleans LA 3,733 1,499 2,104 497 7,833 7.80%
36 Wilmington DE 4,423 2,986 0 329 7,738 7.70%
37 Birmingham AL 4,255 1,014 1,765 605 7,639 7.60%
38 Albuquerque NM 2,872 2,116 2,149 322 7,458 7.50%
39 Denver CO 3,019 1,657 1,603 834 7,113 7.10%
40 Phoenix AZ 1,926 2,155 2,187 641 6,910 6.90%
41 Billings MT 3,966 2,100 0 799 6,865 6.90%
42 Seattle WA 0 3,632 1,847 975 6,454 6.50%
43 Fargo ND 1,801 2,664 1,426 407 6,298 6.30%
44 Honolulu HI 3,261 1,361 1,098 546 6,267 6.30%
45 Houston TX 0 3,287 1,915 371 5,573 5.60%
46 Sioux Falls SD 0 3,210 1,827 393 5,430 5.40%
47 Memphis TN 0 2,406 2,329 420 5,156 5.20%
48 Las Vegas NV 0 2,828 1,176 759 4,763 4.80%
49 Jacksonville FL 0 2,321 1,463 420 4,203 4.20%
50 Cheyenne WY 0 1,249 1,774 698 3,721 3.70%
51 Anchorage AK 0 3,257 0 201 3,457 3.50%

[Evergrey]

so they're comparing the largest municipality in each state... neat

[Chicago103]

Chicago is right at the median and below red state places like Indianapolis, Jackson and Boise. So much for blue state big bad cities being cesspools of high taxes.

[VivaLFuego]

Chicago is right at the median and below red state places like Indianapolis, Jackson and Boise. So much for blue state big bad cities being cesspools of high taxes.

This country isn't just Red and Blue. The "Red" of the midwest like Iowa, Indiana, Ohio is of a populist bent (and of course were formerly Democrat strongholds: protectionist economics, redistribution of wealth for industrial subsidies, etc), the Red of the South and West is a more frontier, individualist mentality. Note the geographic distribution of these tax burdens.

The numbers are interesting.

[Chicago103]

This country isn't just Red and Blue. The "Red" of the midwest like Iowa, Indiana, Ohio is of a populist bent (and of course were formerly Democrat strongholds: protectionist economics, redistribution of wealth for industrial subsidies, etc), the Red of the South and West is a more frontier, individualist mentality. Note the geographic distribution of these tax burdens. Don't oversimplify.

It wasnt my intention to oversimplify, to the contrary I was attempting to point out that its not as simple as red and blue.

[Buckeye Native 001]

It wasnt my intention to oversimplify, to the contrary I was attempting to point out that its not as simple as red and blue.

Smileys suck as ";)" or ":haha:" or ":tup:" work wonders. :rolleyes:

[dave8721]

so they're comparing the largest municipality in each state... neat

I was wondering why I coulnd't find Miami on the list. They are using those silly municipality borders thing that gives tiny Jacksonville the higher city population despite having 1/5 of Miami's metro population. I guess they figure people aren't interesting in San Francisco, or Miami, or Dallas. Or they are assuming that everything in a given state is the same which they are not since property values (and therefor property taxes) vary greatly from city to city in a given state.

[hoosier]

Chicago is right at the median and below red state places like Indianapolis, Jackson and Boise. So much for blue state big bad cities being cesspools of high taxes.

Urban areas even in red states like Indiana lean democratic.

Marion County was only one of three counties in Indiana to go for kerry in 2004.

That being said, the GOP dominated Marion County politics up until abut five years ago.

[LMich]

I'm surprisesd to see Des Moines so high.

[AZheat]

I've really dug into this kind of information to help me make choices of where to live and it's really important to know. It's also helpful to include housing costs and other costs that aren't related to taxes because it changes the picture a little bit. For example, Anchorage, which has the lowest taxes on the list is a very expensive place to live which tends to offset the break you get on taxes. Then some of the cities that have really high taxes such as New York City and other eastern cities also have very high housing prices which really put the squeeze on residents. One of the reasons I'm moving to Tennessee (if I can ever get my damn house sold in Phoenix) is that it has low taxes and also has reasonable housing costs. There's not many places that can say that and I think a person needs to look at the total picture to really see how far their money will go.

[VivaLFuego]

I've really dug into this kind of information to help me make choices of where to live and it's really important to know. It's also helpful to include housing costs and other costs that aren't related to taxes because it changes the picture a little bit. For example, Anchorage, which has the lowest taxes on the list is a very expensive place to live which tends to offset the break you get on taxes. Then some of the cities that have really high taxes such as New York City and other eastern cities also have very high housing prices which really put the squeeze on residents. One of the reasons I'm moving to Tennessee (if I can ever get my damn house sold in Phoenix) is that it has low taxes and also has reasonable housing costs. There's not many places that can say that and I think a person needs to look at the total picture to really see how far their money will go.

The downside being, then you'll be living in Tennesee.

Joking aside, I mean housing costs aren't totally arbitrary, supply/demand plays a pretty major role. Prices in many big cities are high because people want to live here (albeit only in certain neighborhoods, of course). Further, there's no such things as taxes being "too high" or "too low"; its only too high or too low depending on what you're getting in return for them. Of course, world class cities need to provide certain services that residents and tourists will expect, and those cost money that must be raised from some form of taxation.

[Crawford]

The downside being, then you'll be living in Tennesee.

Joking aside, I mean housing costs aren't totally arbitrary, supply/demand plays a pretty major role. Prices in many big cities are high because people want to live here (albeit only in certain neighborhoods, of course). Further, there's no such things as taxes being "too high" or "too low"; its only too high or too low depending on what you're getting in return for them. Of course, world class cities need to provide certain services that residents and tourists will expect, and those cost money that must be raised from some form of taxation.

Yes, I never understand this "how far your money will go" argument. San Francisco is expensive and Memphis is cheap for a reason. This doesn't mean that one can't prefer Memphis, but this is not an apples to apples comparison any more than saying "gee, this fancy french restaurant is expensive and Burger King is cheap."

Your money goes much further at Burger King than at a fancy French restaurant and no doubt Burger King is preferred by many, but that doesn't make it a "better deal" or even a reasonable comparison.

[DeadManWalking]

The taxes here in Kansas City, Kansas are higher than in Wichita or in Kansas City, Missouri.

[PhillyRising]

I've really dug into this kind of information to help me make choices of where to live and it's really important to know. It's also helpful to include housing costs and other costs that aren't related to taxes because it changes the picture a little bit. For example, Anchorage, which has the lowest taxes on the list is a very expensive place to live which tends to offset the break you get on taxes. Then some of the cities that have really high taxes such as New York City and other eastern cities also have very high housing prices which really put the squeeze on residents. One of the reasons I'm moving to Tennessee (if I can ever get my damn house sold in Phoenix) is that it has low taxes and also has reasonable housing costs. There's not many places that can say that and I think a person needs to look at the total picture to really see how far their money will go.

True...but living in Tennessee isn't the same as living in New York. To get fabulous you have to pay for it....and New Yorkers demand a higher standard of public services that aren't found in low tax, low cost areas. I

[TheMeltyMan]

Unngh. These statistics are good for nothing but ridiculous speculation.

[AZheat]

The downside being, then you'll be living in Tennesee.

There's another reason I want to move to Tennessee and that's the fact that I'm a guitar player and I want to live in Nashville. There's a great music scene there with all kinds of styles and some first rate guitar players. I also just like the town and I think it will be a fun place to live. I wouldn't live in a place I didn't like just because it was cheap.

[passdoubt]

Residents of big East Coast cities like Philadelphia and New York love to complain about the cost of living in their respective towns, but their tax burden doesn't even come close to what residents of Bridgeport, Conn. have to pay.

Famil(ies) of Three Making $100,000 make up far less of Bridgeport's families than NY families. The median income for a family of four in the US is under $50,000, and in most of the cities at the top of this list it's significantly lower. The typical resident in a high tax city is poorer-- that's why the city needs to raise taxes to collect the same amount of money. Money Magazine doesn't really care about this of course...

[Marcu]

There's another reason I want to move to Tennessee and that's the fact that I'm a guitar player and I want to live in Nashville. There's a great music scene there with all kinds of styles and some first rate guitar players. I also just like the town and I think it will be a fun place to live. I wouldn't live in a place I didn't like just because it was cheap.

Cities like Nashville and Chicago, where there's a healthy tourist population, tend to favor a higher sales tax over a higher income tax so they can get out-of-towners to pay for city services. Not a bad strategy.