Which US cities have the highest sales tax?
Of the major US cities we checked, Seattle, Washington charges the most sales tax: 10.55% combined, or $105.50 on a $1,000 purchase. Los Angeles, California is close behind at 10.25%.
4 of the 26 states we covered have a big city charging 10% or more: Birmingham (Alabama), Los Angeles (California), New Orleans (Louisiana), Seattle (Washington). At the other end, Juneau (Alaska) and Cheyenne, Casper, Gillette (Wyoming) charge 5%. On a $1,000 purchase, that's a difference of $55.50.
How we worked out these numbers
The rates come from the state profiles behind this site's state tax pages. For each state, the profile lists a few of the largest cities, with the combined state and local sales tax rate taken from the state revenue department's own rate table or publication. We've linked that source on every row.
We only used a city where the source states the combined rate. Where it gives just the city's own piece, as for Little Rock, Denver, Fargo, Bismarck and Jackson, Mississippi, we've left the city out rather than add up the layers ourselves. That's why some states aren't in the table, along with states that don't let cities add a sales tax at all, and those with no sales tax.
For each state we picked the city with the highest combined rate among those listed, and listed the others alongside. The state rate comes from the sales tax table this site's calculators use, and the local add-on is the combined rate minus the state rate. For comparison, the last money column shows the tax on $1,000 at the state's average combined rate, from the sales tax calculator.
One important limit: this compares the big cities in our profiles, not every town. Smaller towns and special districts in some states may charge more than any city here.
The highest sales tax city in each state
Click any column heading to sort.
Highest combined sales tax among major US cities, by state (2026)
Download CSVCombined state and local general sales tax rate for the largest cities in each state profile; ties are listed together. Not every city in the state, only those in our profiles. State average from the engine sales tax table. Tax on $1,000 = rate x $1,000.
| Washington | Seattle | 10.55% | 6.50% | 4.05% | $105.50 | $95.70 | Tacoma 10.5%; Spokane 9.1% | n/a | https://dor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-08/Q426_Excel_LSU-rates-alpha.xlsx |
| California | Los Angeles | 10.25% | 7.25% | 3.00% | $102.50 | $90.30 | San Jose 10%; San Diego 7.75% | n/a | https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/taxratesbycountyandcity.pdf |
| Alabama | Birmingham | 10.00% | 4.00% | 6.00% | $100.00 | $94.60 | Huntsville 9% | n/a | https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/streport.pdf |
| Louisiana | New Orleans | 10.00% | 5.00% | 5.00% | $100.00 | $101.30 | n/a | n/a | https://www.nola.gov/sales-tax-rate/ |
| Minnesota | St. Paul | 9.88% | 6.88% | 3.00% | $98.75 | $81.35 | Minneapolis 9.025%; Rochester 8.125% | n/a | https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/2026-08/local-sales-and-use-tax-rate-guide-2026-q4.pdf |
| Tennessee | Nashville | 9.75% | 7.00% | 2.75% | $97.50 | $96.10 | n/a | n/a | https://www.tn.gov/revenue/news/2024/12/3/important-notice--change-of-local-tax-rate--davidson-county.html |
| Arizona | Phoenix | 9.10% | 5.60% | 3.50% | $91.00 | $85.40 | n/a | Lower rate above a per-item threshold | https://www.phoenix.gov/content/dam/phoenix/financesite/documents/privilege-use-tax/Combined-Tax-Rate-Chart-0126.pdf |
| Georgia | Columbus, Augusta | 9.00% | 4.00% | 5.00% | $90.00 | $75.60 | Atlanta 8.9% | n/a | https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document/httpsdorgeorgiagovdocumentdocumentgeneral-rate-chart-effective-october-1-2026/download |
| South Carolina | Charleston, North Charleston | 9.00% | 6.00% | 3.00% | $90.00 | $74.90 | Columbia 8% | n/a | https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/forms/ST575.pdf |
| New York | New York City | 8.88% | 4.00% | 4.88% | $88.75 | $85.40 | Buffalo 8.75% | n/a | https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/publications/sales/pub718.pdf |
| Oklahoma | Norman | 8.75% | 4.50% | 4.25% | $87.50 | $90.60 | Oklahoma City 8.625%; Tulsa 8.517% | n/a | https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/tax/documents/resources/publications/businesses/sales-and-use-tax/rate-charts-copos/2026/copo4Q26.pdf |
| Nevada | Las Vegas | 8.38% | 6.85% | 1.52% | $83.75 | $82.40 | n/a | n/a | https://tax.nv.gov/tax-types/sales-tax-use-tax/ |
| North Carolina | Charlotte | 8.25% | 4.75% | 3.50% | $82.50 | $71.00 | Raleigh 7.25%; Greensboro 6.75% | n/a | https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/sales-and-use-tax/other-sales-and-use-tax-resources/important-notices-issued-sales-and-use-tax-division/important-notice-mecklenburg-county-sales-and-use-tax-increase |
| Texas | Houston, Dallas | 8.25% | 6.25% | 2.00% | $82.50 | $82.00 | n/a | n/a | https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales/city.php |
| Missouri | Springfield | 8.10% | 4.23% | 3.88% | $81.00 | $84.45 | n/a | n/a | https://www.springfieldmo.gov/6121/Taxes |
| Ohio | Columbus, Cleveland | 8.00% | 5.75% | 2.25% | $80.00 | $72.90 | Cincinnati 7.8% | n/a | https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/tax.ohio.gov/tax_analysis/tax_data_series/sales_and_use/Salestaxmap.pdf |
| Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | 8.00% | 6.00% | 2.00% | $80.00 | $63.40 | Pittsburgh 7% | n/a | https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/sales-use-and-hotel-occupancy-tax |
| Wisconsin | Milwaukee | 7.90% | 5.00% | 2.90% | $79.00 | $57.20 | Madison 5.5%; Green Bay 5.5% | n/a | https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/pcs-taxrates.aspx |
| Florida | Jacksonville | 7.50% | 6.00% | 1.50% | $75.00 | $69.80 | Miami 7% | Surtax applies to the first $5,000 of an item | https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/dr15dss.pdf |
| Nebraska | Lincoln | 7.25% | 5.50% | 1.75% | $72.50 | $69.80 | Omaha 7%; Bellevue 7% | n/a | https://revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/tax-forms/2026/salestax/slstax_rates_07-01-2026.pdf |
| Vermont | Burlington, South Burlington, Colchester | 7.00% | 6.00% | 1.00% | $70.00 | $64.30 | n/a | n/a | https://tax.vermont.gov/business/local-option-tax |
| West Virginia | Huntington, Morgantown | 7.00% | 6.00% | 1.00% | $70.00 | $66.00 | n/a | n/a | https://tax.wv.gov/Business/SalesAndUseTax/MunicipalSalesAndUseTax/Pages/MunicipalSalesAndUseTax.aspx |
| South Dakota | Sioux Falls | 6.20% | 4.20% | 2.00% | $62.00 | $61.10 | n/a | n/a | https://dor.sd.gov/media/54mb5a2w/2026-07_municipal-tax-guide.pdf |
| Virginia | Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Richmond | 6.00% | 5.30% | 0.70% | $60.00 | $57.70 | n/a | n/a | https://www.tax.virginia.gov/retail-sales-and-use-tax |
| Alaska | Juneau | 5.00% | 0.00% | 5.00% | $50.00 | $18.20 | n/a | No state sales tax; city and borough rate only | https://juneau.org/finance/business-registration-and-sales-tax |
| Wyoming | Cheyenne, Casper, Gillette | 5.00% | 4.00% | 1.00% | $50.00 | $53.90 | n/a | n/a | https://excise-tax-div.wyo.gov/sales-use-tax-rate-charts |
n/a means the column does not apply to that row.
Why Seattle tops the list
Washington has no tax on wages and leans hard on sales tax instead. The state rate is 6.5%, and local taxes in Seattle add another 4.05%, for 10.55% in all. On $1,000, that's $105.50. Tacoma isn't far behind.
Los Angeles reaches 10.25% a different way. California's statewide rate, 7.25%, is the highest base rate in this table, and Los Angeles County's district taxes push it higher.
Birmingham and New Orleans: low state rates, high local ones
Some of the highest city rates are in states with a low state rate. Alabama charges 4% at the state level, but in Birmingham city and county taxes add 6%, for 10% combined. New Orleans also comes to 10%, split evenly between the state and Orleans Parish.
This is why a state's base rate tells you little about what you'll pay at the till. Nashville, at 9.75%, and St. Paul, at 9.875%, are other cities where local taxes add a lot.
Big cities in the middle
New York City charges 8.875%, including a small transit tax. Houston and Dallas both sit at 8.25%, which is the most Texas law allows once local taxes are added. That's $82.50 on $1,000, barely above the $82.00 you'd pay at the Texas average.
Most of the cities in this list charge more than their state's average combined rate. That's what you'd expect, because cities and transit authorities are where most local sales taxes are levied.
The lowest rates in the list
Wyoming's three biggest cities all charge 5%, made up of the state rate plus a county tax. Juneau, Alaska charges 5% too, but that's all local, because Alaska has no state sales tax. Virginia's big cities sit at 6%, the rate for its regions with an extra regional tax.
What the rate doesn't tell you
The general rate isn't what you pay on everything. Many states tax groceries at a lower rate or not at all, and some cities have special rates for restaurant meals, hotels or alcohol. Phoenix and Florida's counties cap the local part on big single purchases, and Columbia and North Charleston, South Carolina have different rates in different counties.
Rates also change, often on the first day of a quarter. The rates here are those in the profiles as of October 2026.
Work out the tax on your own purchase
The sales tax calculator uses each state's rate and its average local rate. The state pages, such as the Washington sales tax calculator, Alabama sales tax calculator, California sales tax calculator and Texas sales tax calculator, explain the local layers in each state. For your exact address, use the rate lookup on your state revenue department's website.
