freedomrankings.comEconomic Freedom
A handful of states levy no income tax at all, while others combine high income, sales, and property taxes with heavy regulation. This ranking scores all 50 states on economic freedom — the category that folds in tax burden, regulatory load, and business climate — so you can see where your paycheck and your business keep the most room to breathe.
New Hampshire leads all 50 states for Economic Freedom with a score of 10.0/10, followed by Tennessee and South Dakota. New Mexico ranks last. Each state is scored 0–10 on Economic Freedom from established, annually-updated third-party indexes.
Score reflects overall tax burden (income, sales, property), regulatory load, and business climate — not income tax alone. Darker green = stronger; click any state for its full breakdown.
State Tax Burden: Income, Sales & Property Taxes Compared
Nine states take nothing from your paycheck. Five charge nothing at the register. Not one is a tax haven - here is where the money actually comes from instead.
Retirement Taxes by State: Income, Social Security & Estate Tax
Retirement rearranges which taxes matter. The 13 states that exempt retirement income, the 8 that still tax Social Security, and the state estate taxes that start at $1 million.
New Hampshire ranks #1 for economic freedom, scoring 10.0/10 — typically a no-income-tax state with a light overall tax and regulatory load. The full ranking is above.
Nine states levy no broad personal income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire (wages), South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington (wages), and Wyoming. Most of them cluster near the top of this economic-freedom ranking.
New Mexico ranks lowest on economic freedom, reflecting a heavy combined income/sales/property tax load plus higher regulatory burden.
No — the economic-freedom score folds in total tax burden (income, sales, and property), regulatory load, and business climate, drawing on the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of North America and related sources. See the methodology page.