How much money does California take out of your paycheck? New study breaks it down

California may be one of the most expensive states in the United States, but it’s not the worst for your paycheck, according to a new study.

Individual taxpayers in California see $509 in taxes taken out of their biweekly paychecks, personal finance site GoBankingRates found in its analysis.

Those who file their taxes jointly, meanwhile, get $795 taken out of each paycheck.

“Anyone who’s ever held a job knows the sweet relief of opening your bank statement to see that direct deposit hit,” GoBankingRates contributor Jami Farkas wrote in a June 17 article titled “How Much Money Gets Taken Out of Paychecks in Every State.”

“But with every payday, the taxman cometh,” Farkas wrote. “How much is taken out depends on where you live.”

How does California compare to nearby states?

When it comes to payroll taxes, California taxpayers shell out more than those in a couple of neighboring states.

Arizona and Nevada each take no more than $400 from individual taxpayers’ paychecks and less than $500 from those filing taxes jointly.

In Oregon, $542 is subtracted from single tax filers’ paychecks. A total of $674 is taken from joint filers.

Which states take the most money out of paychecks?

Here are the top 10 states that take the most money from biweekly paychecks for individual taxpayers, according to GoBankingRates:

1. Massachusetts - $681
2. Connecticut - $624
3. Maryland - $611
4. Oregon - $542
5. Virginia - $540
6. New Jersey - $586
7. New York - $559
8. Minnesota - $513
9. Hawaii - $509
10. Idaho - $516

What about taxpayers filing jointly?

Here are the 10 states that take out the most money from the paychecks of taxpayers filing jointly, the site said:

1. Hawaii - $890
2. Massachusetts - $844
3. New Jersey - $838
4. Maryland - $831
5. California - $795
6. Utah - $765
7. Connecticut - $763
8. Virginia - $709
9. Colorado - $708
10. Massachusetts - $681

How did GoBankingRates come up with rankings?

GoBankingRates used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to analyze the median annual income in each state.

The site also examined state and federal tax data sourced from the Tax Foundation’s 2023 Tax Brackets to determine in which tax brackets each state’s median earner falls.

“All data was collected and is up to date as of June 14,” the site said.

This story was originally published June 21, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How much money does California take out of your paycheck? New study breaks it down."