Here’s what your tax dollar buys you in every state. How does Pa. stack up? | The Numbers Racket

In a normal year, this week is usually the last week for taxpayers to file their annual returns. However, the ongoing pandemic has extended that again this year to mid-May. 

While filing may not be due yet, WalletHub, a personal finance website, broke down the best and worst taxpayer return on investment (ROI) across each state in its latest report. 

To determine the ROI for taxpayers, WalletHub compared the quality of government services received by residents to the state and local taxes they pay.

Top 10 states for best taxpayer ROI: 

• New Hampshire
• Florida
• South Dakota
• Virginia
• Missouri
• Ohio
• Texas
• Georgia
• Nebraska
• Tennessee

The 10 worst states for taxpayer ROI: 

50. Hawaii
51. California
52. New Mexico
53. North Dakota
54. Delaware
55. Nevada
56. New York
57. Arkansas
58. Louisiana
59. Vermont

Keystone State Findings

On a scale with 1 being the best and 25th being the average, Pennsylvania ranked 26th for overall ROI. Similarly, Pennsylvania ranked 27th for total taxes per capita (population aged 18+). 

Pennsylvania also ranked: 

• 22nd – Education
• 19th – Health
• 16th – Safety
• 38th – Economy
• 37th – Infrastructure & Pollution

It shouldn’t come as a shock to any Pennsylvanian that the commonwealth’s roads and bridges ranked among the worst, coming in at 48th out of 50, just ahead of West Virginia and Rhode Island. 

Methodology

WalletHub analyzed each of the 50 states across five metrics:1) Education, 20; 2) Health, 20; 3) Safety, 20; 4) Economy, 20 and 5) Infrastructure & Pollution, 20. The categories were further broken down into 30 relevant metrics, which are listed in the report with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best quality of government service.

To find a state’s overall score in a category, WalletHub used a weighted average across all 30 metrics. 

After an overall score in a category has been calculated, WalletHub then constructed the Taxpayer ROI ranking by comparing each state’s “Overall Government Services Score” to its “Total Taxes Paid per Capita.” “Per Capita” includes the population aged 18 and older.