Illinois Tax Burden Among Worst in U.S., New Report Says

The life struggle is real especially if you live in Illinois which has again been ranked as having one of the largest tax burdens in America.

As I write this, we are less than two weeks from the tax filing deadline. It's one of the least fun times of year if you are one of the many that owes the government money. Why is it that when the government owes you money, you have to wait, but when you owe them money, they make you pay it immediately? I'm asking for a friend.

Wallet Hub has just shared their new 2026 tax burden by state ranking. As you can see, Illinois is in the top 10 again ranked as the 6th worst tax burden in the nation.

Their numbers say that Illinois has a total tax burden of 9.92% with property taxes of 3.75% being 6th highest in America. I remember when my family was looking to buy a home a few years ago, we considered Illinois until we saw the difference in property taxes between Illinois and Missouri. For the record, Missouri is ranked among the least tax burdened states at #34. That's why we made the decision we did, but it's not that we have anything against Illinois. It simply costs more to live in Illinois than it does in Missouri. That's simple math that even a simple man like me can understand.