Americans who reside in states with a high cost of living often tend to be employed in high-paying roles to offset lifestyle expenses. If you want to take home $100,000 after taxes from a six-figure salary, you’d need to earn $130,999 on the low end in America’s richest states — and as much as $146,521 in one surprising East Coast state.
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To determine the 10 richest states, GOBankingRates referred to existing research on how much the top 1% pay in taxes. A separate GOBankingRates study about the salary needed to take home $100,000 in each state was then utilized to determine each state’s amount.
In alphabetical order, this is how much salary is necessary to take home $100,000 in the 10 richest states.
California
Salary needed for $100K: $144,879
Tax burden: 31.0%
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Colorado
Salary needed for $100K: $139,008
Tax burden: 28.1%
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Connecticut
Salary needed for $100K: $141,600
Tax burden: 29.4%
Hawaii
Salary needed for $100K: $144,939
Tax burden: 31.0%
Maryland
Salary needed for $100K: $146,521
Tax burden: 31.8%
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Massachusetts
Salary needed for $100K: $140,643
Tax burden: 28.9%
New Hampshire
Salary needed for $100K: $130,999
Tax burden: 23.7%
New Jersey
Salary needed for $100K: $140,929
Tax burden: 29.1%
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Utah
Salary needed for $100K: $139,681
Tax burden: 28.4%
Washington
Salary needed for $100K: $130,999
Tax burden: 23.7%
Methodology: To generate the income for what it takes to bring home a $100,000 salary by state, GOBankingRates surveyed income taxes at both the federal and state level (including FICA). Income tax estimates were created by using an in-house calculator for a person who was filing their taxes as a single person and using the standard deduction (with 2024 tax brackets). Once the three income taxes were calculated as an annual amount, GOBankingRates found each state’s (4) total annual income taxes paid and (5) total income tax burden. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 12, 2025.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: If You Live in One of the Richest States, Here’s the Salary You Need To Take Home $100K
