Living in California is really wonderful for the most part - but the state income tax is a killer. I'd love to move back to Cali, but it would involve a higher

Living in California is really wonderful for the most part - but the state income tax is a killer. I'd love to move back to Cali, but it would involve a higher cost of living (not a big deal) and about a 10% pay cut (due to state income tax, and a big deal). I work remotely, so when deciding where to live next I have to think through: "Ok, I'd looove to live in the Bay Area, but if I lived in Seattle where there's no income tax, I could have an extra X bucks per month." Where X is 9.3% of your salary: 60K => $465/mo 80K => $620/mo 100K => $775/mo 120K => $930/mo So the question becomes, is it worth the X bucks a month to live in Cali? Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. I use Seattle as an arbitrary example of course - but it could be any of the no income tax states. Of course, many folks don't have the option at all - but more and more people will be able to choose in the future. I don't know much about how state governments work - but it's interesting to see how some states can have no income tax and still be better off financially than high income tax states like Cali. Sometimes I hear the argument that it's because the no income tax states have much higher sales taxes. However, the sales tax in Cali vs Washington or Texas seems about the same (around 8%). Perhaps there's a big difference in property taxes - I'm not a homeowner so I don't know or really care about that. A lot of it does seem to come down to how well the state is run when you look at it as a business instead of a 'state'. As an aside, if you live in a no income tax state and want to avoid sales taxes where possible - Amazon Prime is your friend ;)