I was surprised Texas wasn’t number one.
Two words: Property Taxes.
No,
as conservative as we like to claim we are, the good old boys gouge the crap out of us with taxes.
We pay .20 per gallon in fuel tax, gas or diesel.
The property taxes are criminal, but we have to pay for the high schools for illegals, and the football stadiums to keep the college player machine fed.....
I wasn’t surprised at all. While Texas has no state income tax, we get slammed on property taxes, vehicle “registration” fees, 8.25% sales tax, etc. The good thing is, most of those taxes are fully in the control of the taxpayer. For instance, I may be able to afford the price of a $500K house, but choose not to purchase it because of the high taxes (thereby avoiding taxes). In states with an income tax, it’s taken off the top with no choice being made by the resident.
A few years back, I went through everything I paid in a year to get an idea of all the taxes I paid in Texas. I forget the percentage of my income, but the total amount paid was an eye opener - driver license renew fee, CHL fee, fees on water bill (fire dept, surface water conservation, etc.), hunting/fishing license, taxes on phone, cable, and electric bills, property taxes, sales tax, toll roads, etc. The list is a mile long. Heck, there are even fees charged at the doors of strip clubs that go back to the state to pay for abused women. Then, add federal taxes on top of that.
But even though we Texans pay a lot of taxes on the side, we also have a MUCH lower cost of living here. My Houston area house (4 BR, 2 BA, 2300 sq ft, swimming pool) would cost in the millions in CA - for me, $200K. Add on to that lower gas and food prices and the picture gets rosier.