a landable guide
State income tax under 4%. At least 180 pleasant days. The full list, ranked honestly.
By Karol Gajda
Low-tax states cluster in two zones: the gulf-coast no-tax belt (Texas, Florida, Tennessee) and a few small mountain states. Great weather clusters somewhere different. The overlap is where this list lives.
We require state income tax under 4% and at least 180 pleasant days a year, then rank by an even split of affordability and weather.
01
Photo by Emanuel Odadjiev on Unsplash
LA · 962k metro
New Orleans tops the list on tax-and-weather. State income tax sits at 3.0%. Median rent at $1,612, 235 pleasant days a year.
3.0%
state and local income tax
235
pleasant days a year
$1,612
median rent / month
02
Photo by Kevin Dunlap on Unsplash
FL · 530k metro
Pensacola sits at number two with the same lighter footprint on the state tax line. No state income tax at all. Rent at $1,752, 226 pleasant days.
0%
state and local income tax
226
pleasant days a year
$1,752
median rent / month
03
Photo by Joseph Corl on Unsplash
FL · 262k metro
Sarasota earns the third spot: No state income tax at all. $2,121 median rent, 249 pleasant days on the calendar.
0%
state and local income tax
249
pleasant days a year
$2,121
median rent / month
04
IN · 271k metro
Evansville is the kind of city that quietly does better on both axes than the loud ones. State income tax sits at 3.0%. $1,075 rent, 184 pleasant days.
3.0%
state and local income tax
184
pleasant days a year
$1,075
median rent / month
05
Photo by Gage LaVergne on Pexels
LA · 414k metro
Lafayette sits on the low side of the state-tax map. State income tax sits at 3.0%. $1,332 median rent, 211 pleasant days.
3.0%
state and local income tax
211
pleasant days a year
$1,332
median rent / month
06
Photo by Dominik Gryzbon on Pexels
FL · 835k metro
Cape Coral stops the state from taking a quiet cut. No state income tax at all. Rent at $1,859, with 250 pleasant days a year.
0%
state and local income tax
250
pleasant days a year
$1,859
median rent / month
07
Photo by Adrian Diaz-Sieckel on Unsplash
FL · 6.2M metro
Miami runs a lighter state-tax footprint than most of the country. No state income tax at all. $2,665 median rent, 272 pleasant days.
0%
state and local income tax
272
pleasant days a year
$2,665
median rent / month
08
Photo by Jeffrey Eisen on Pexels
FL · 644k metro
Melbourne is friendly on the tax line and the calendar. No state income tax at all. $1,895 rent, 254 pleasant days.
0%
state and local income tax
254
pleasant days a year
$1,895
median rent / month
09
FL · 3.3M metro
Tampa pairs 243 pleasant days a year with no state income tax at all. Median rent: $1,996.
0%
state and local income tax
243
pleasant days a year
$1,996
median rent / month
10
Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels
FL · 722k metro
Daytona Beach rounds out the ten. No state income tax at all. $1,784 median rent, 212 pleasant days. The kind of place that looks better the longer you stay.
0%
state and local income tax
212
pleasant days a year
$1,784
median rent / month
We score on 40% affordability, 40% weather, 10% parks, and 10% activity. Filters: state income tax under 4%, at least 180 pleasant days a year.
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