Connecticut, You Won't Be Happy When You Learn Your Effective Tax Rate

With a huge state deficit looming and the prospect of a tax increase a reality, the last thing Connecticut residents want to know is that they pay more in taxes than a whole lot of other states.

Unfortunately it's true, according to a new report from the personal financial website WalletHub.

Only three other states - Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois - have a higher total state and local effective tax rate than Connecticut's 13.48 percent.

That comes out to $7,262 annually for a median household in Connecticut, or 25.89 percent above the national average. By comparison, Alaskans pay the least in effective tax rates at 5.69 percent, or $3,066, which comes out to nearly 50 percent below the national average of 10.71 percent.

When calculating the tax rates, WalletHub looked at "Real Estate Tax," "Vehicle Property Tax," "Income Tax" and "Sales & Excise Tax."

The full methodology the site used to determine effective total tax rates can be viewed by clicking here.

Additionally, WalletHub "assumed that the 'Median U.S. Household' has an income equal to $53,889 (mean third quintile U.S. income); owns a home valued at $175,700 (median U.S. home value); owns a car valued at $23,070 (the highest-selling car of 2015); and spends annually an amount equal to the spending of a household earning the median U.S. income."

In order, the states with the highest (or worst) effective tax rates, according to WalletHub, are:

• Illinois - 14.54%
• Nebraska - 13.85%
• Wisconsin - 13.58%
• Connecticut - 13.48%
• Rhode Island - 13.46%

On the other end of the spectrum, the states with the lowest (or best) effective tax rates are:

• Alaska - 5.69%
• Delaware - 6.02%
• Montana - 6.92%
• Wyoming - 7.45%
• Nevada - 7.72%

"Every year, the average U.S. household pays more than $5,700 in federal income taxes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics," wrote WalletHub. "And while we’re all faced with that same obligation, there is significant disparity when it comes to state and local taxes. Taxpayers in the most expensive states, for instance, pay three times more than those in the cheapest states to meet their civic burden."

Click here to view the full report on the WalletHub website.