[Billy_bob_bob]

Is it just me, or do these results correlate to population density more directly than just about anything else? It seems like the states in the highest brackets have the largest population centers in the country, where the lowest taxed states have the smallest population centers in the country. Am I missing something here?

[Mr. Bird]

It's all about per capita income. The progressive income tax structure automatically increases the percentage burden on states with high salaries (relative to others).

You can break it down even further, to show the silliness of the data here. I would wager that the percentage burden of taxes in Darien, CT blows Hartford, CT out of the water, simply because income levels in Darien are higher than Hartford.