East Central Reporter

As an increasing number of families move out of the Prairie State, state Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) spoke about why Illinois' population is dropping. 

Plummer believes state taxes could be to blame for the migration from Illinois. 

"Illinois families are fleeing the state," he said in a Facebook post this week. "Why? Illinois is the least friendly state in the country for families. Wyoming, Nevada, Tennessee, Alaska, and Florida are the most tax friendly for families. We need sound tax and spending policies that prioritize families over insiders. I will always fight for families and workers in Springfield."

Plummer's post also shared a link to a Moneygeek report. Moneygeek conducted a survey and found that Illinois is the least tax-friendly state in the country.

"Illinois is the least tax-friendly state; there, families pay $14,778 in annual taxes," the report said. "Wyoming is the most tax-friendly state, where residents pay $3,438. For a typical middle-class family, the tax burden difference between living in the highest-tax state (Illinois) and the lowest-tax state (Wyoming) is $11,340 per year."

Other states with high tax burdens include Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire and New York. In addition to Wyoming, the states with the least tax burdens are Nevada, Tennessee, Alaska and Florida. 

This is not the first time that publications have labeled Illinois' high taxes as unfriendly. In 2022, WalletHub ranked Illinois 10th for its tax burden on residents. At that time, the state had a total tax burden of 9.7%, which included a property tax burden of 3.98%, a personal income tax burden of 2.2%, and a total sales & excise tax burden of 3.5%.

Additionally, in 2020, MSN labeled Illinois as the "least tax-friendly" state to live in; a report from the Prairie State Wire said. At that time, MSN noted that Illinois was also at the top of Kiplinger's "unfriendly" tax list.