By GARRY RAYNO, Distant Dome
It is election time and the phrase “New Hampshire Advantage” passed through a lot of lips, although not many Democrats’.
The GOP rallying cry was imagined at the dinner table of then gubernatorial candidate Steve Merrill who sought to answer his opponent’s — Ed Dupont — multi-page economic development plan for the state which was just beginning to emerge from a national recession exacerbated locally by the failure of the state’s five largest banks, giving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ownership of much of the real estate along Manchester’s Elm Street and millions of dollars worth of empty condos in the Seacoast.
Over the years the sound byte has morphed into a second pledge to mean no broad-based sales or income tax, because that is New Hampshire’s advantage over its neighbors and other states is the assumption.
It also helps perpetuate the notion that New Hampshire is a “low-tax state” and is if you are wealthy and pay no income tax on your riches.
However, people who own homes or real estate know that New Hampshire has some of the highest property taxes in the country, paying for more than 70 percent of public education costs and approaching 100 percent of municipal and county costs.
Many national surveys put the state in the middle for what residents pay for taxes but never on the low end.
However, a recent report from Visual Capitalists, a a digital media publisher that transforms complex data into infographics and charts to make it more understandable, tells a different tale.
The company also reports on things like what a family needs to earn to live comfortably in every state, states’ top exports, global equity markets, and ranking the world’s economy.
The report “Lifetime Taxes” maps the lifetime taxes a person would pay in each state.
The report uses data compiled every two years by Self Financial, which estimates what an individual would pay living to 79.6 years of age. The data was updated in July.
The estimates include federal and state income taxes, as well as sales, property and vehicle taxes.
It assumes a 45-year working life with constant earnings and tax rates, homeownership beginning at age 40 and purchases of five vehicles over a lifetime.
Federal Census and individual state data is also used in determining the individual state calculation.
According to the report, a lifetime New Hampshire resident would pay $1,125,478 in taxes, which is the fourth highest in the country. That figure represents 43.2 percent on projected earnings of $2.6 million.
New Jersey tops the list with lifetime taxes reaching $1,359,406 at 48.2 percent or earnings, followed by Massachusetts with $1,297,130, at 44.3 percent, and Connecticut with $1,249,749, at 44.9 percent.
New York is fifth with $1,084,561, and California sixth with $1,075,061, followed by Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota and Rhode Island.
Vermont is 11th with taxes or $953,322 and Maine is 19th at $758,818.
As you can see the Northeast is well represented at the top of the scale.
The residents of the top nine states will all pay more than $1 million over their lifetimes.
At the bottom of the scale is Florida with a resident paying about $509,000 or 25.5 percent of their lifetime earnings, followed by South Dakota with $515,732, Arkansas with $517,942, Oklahoma with $526,333, and Nevada with $535,652
Other states at the bottom include Wyoming, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana and Kentucky.
The estimates include taxes on earnings, property, personal expenses and autos.
According to Self Financial, the average American will pay $762,272 in taxes over their lifetime, representing 33.6 percent on earnings of $2,266,605.
That is a $237,647 increase from 2024.
The tax on earnings is the highest for the average American at $532,580 which is an increase of $262,166 since 2024.
It must be that the average American did not get the great big tax cuts in the “Great Big Beautiful Bill” Republicans passed last year.
Anyone not in the top tax brackets paying taxes on last year’s earnings already knows that.
However there is better news for New Hampshire in the Visual Capitalists report of what you have to earn to live comfortably in each state.
New Hampshire is not in the top 10 most expensive states to live in, it is only the 11th most expensive state to live in with a single adult needing $107,203.
The most expensive state to live in is Hawaii where an adult would need $129,002 to live comfortably, which the organization describes as 50 percent for necessities, 30 percent for discretionary spending and 20 percent for saving or other financial goals.
Massachusetts is the second most expensive with an individual needing $127,213, followed by California at $126,797, New York at $124,342, and New Jersey at $113,776.
Six to 10 are Washington, Oregon, Connecticut, Colorado and Maryland.
Rhode Island is 13th at $104,042, Vermont 15th at $103,667 and Maine 16th at $102,918.
The data for this report was developed by SmartAsset and uses pre-tax figures.
In 23 states, an individual would need more than $100,000 a year to live comfortably.
While the coastal markets are usually seen as the more expensive places to live, the six-figure income is needed in Utah, Arizona, Montana, Georgia, Nevada, and Florida.
At the bottom of the scale are West Virginia at $81,245, Arkansas at $83,242, Kentucky at $84,074, Louisiana at $84,739, South Dakota at $85,405, and North Dakota at $85,738.
The next four states are Mississippi, Oklahoma, Ohio and Alabama.
For a family of four, New Hampshire ranks 12th needing $267,904 to live comfortably, while Massachusetts ranks first needing $329,555, Connecticut is fourth at $298,189, Vermont 19th at $280,384, Rhode Island 13th at $264,659 and Maine 16th at $250,931.
Only six states come in below the $200,000 level for a family of four to live comfortably.
They are bottom to top Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama.
Statistics do not tell the whole story, but they give us an idea of where the state fits in compared to the rest of the country.
It should not be a surprise to anyone that the cost of living in the Northeast is much higher than other areas of the country both for the cost of living and for taxation.
It is a double whammy if you struggle financially to provide for your children and yourself.
And within the state, the difference in the cost of living between the golden triangle of Nashua, Concord and Portsmouth and Coos County are worlds apart.
But throughout the state, taxes are not low if you own property and inflation continues to eat away at what could make you comfortable.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-lifetime-taxes-in-every-u-s-state
Distant Dome by veteran journalist Garry Rayno explores a broader perspective on the State House and state happenings for InDepthNH.org. Over his three-decade career, Rayno covered the NH State House for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Foster’s Daily Democrat. During his career, his coverage spanned the news spectrum, from local planning, school and select boards, to national issues such as electric industry deregulation and Presidential primaries. Rayno lives with his wife Carolyn and their two rescue dogs.