The vast majority of Americans don’t enjoy filing their taxes. Even to those for whom it’s a relatively painless process, it still represents a chore. However, no matter how much you hate the process of putting your return together, you probably love the day the money from your refund hits your bank account.
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While plenty of personal finance experts insist that you adjust your withholding so that you can earn interest on it throughout the year, many Americans still seem to prefer receiving it as one lump sum shortly after they file. And certainly, if that ensures the cash gets invested or put in savings, it’s probably worth forgoing that extra little bit of interest you can earn by reducing your withholding.
So, which Americans are getting the most back on their tax returns? To get to the bottom of that question, GOBankingRates compiled a list of all 50 states, ranked by the size of the average return people received for the 2023 tax year — the taxes you filed at the beginning of 2024. The stats are listed in order of smallest average return to largest.
See where your state ranks in terms of getting that fat check from Uncle Sam.
Maine
- Number of refunds issued: 527,732
- Average refund issued per return: $2,467
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Wisconsin
- Number of refunds issued: 2,195,068
- Average refund issued per return: $2,551
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Vermont
- Number of refunds issued: 251,127
- Average refund issued per return: $2,571
Oregon
- Number of refunds issued: 1,477,631
- Average refund issued per return: $2,581
Montana
- Number of refunds issued: 395,346
- Average refund issued per return: $2,636
Minnesota
- Number of refunds issued: 2,094,422
- Average refund issued per return: $2,637
West Virginia
- Number of refunds issued: 628,847
- Average refund issued per return: $2,644
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Ohio
- Number of refunds issued: 4,431,417
- Average refund issued per return: $2,646
Rhode Island
- Number of refunds issued: 435,078
- Average refund issued per return: $2,668
Kentucky
- Number of refunds issued: 1,574,338
- Average refund issued per return: $2,695
New Mexico
- Number of refunds issued: 741,576
- Average refund issued per return: $2,708
South Carolina
- Number of refunds issued: 1,831,404
- Average refund issued per return: $2,710
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Nebraska
- Number of refunds issued: 694,541
- Average refund issued per return: $2,717
Iowa
- Number of refunds issued: 1,121,812
- Average refund issued per return: $2,720
Missouri
- Number of refunds issued: 2,215,395
- Average refund issued per return: $2,752
Indiana
- Number of refunds issued: 2,583,834
- Average refund issued per return: $2,756
Pennsylvania
- Number of refunds issued: 4,989,418
- Average refund issued per return: $2,757
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Kansas
- Number of refunds issued: 1,020,029
- Average refund issued per return: $2,761
North Carolina
- Number of refunds issued: 3,738,311
- Average refund issued per return: $2,766
Michigan
- Number of refunds issued: 3,710,467
- Average refund issued per return: $2,783
North Dakota
- Number of refunds issued: 270,485
- Average refund issued per return: $2,812
Delaware
- Number of refunds issued: 380,760
- Average refund issued per return: $2,814
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Hawaii
- Number of refunds issued: 506,220
- Average refund issued per return: $2,816
South Dakota
- Number of refunds issued: 329,304
- Average refund issued per return: $2,846
Colorado
- Number of refunds issued: 2,136,270
- Average refund issued per return: $2,852
New Hampshire
- Number of refunds issued: 558,085
- Average refund issued per return: $2,852
Alaska
- Number of refunds issued: 258,043
- Average refund issued per return: $2,858
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Idaho
- Number of refunds issued: 638,312
- Average refund issued per return: $2,868
Arkansas
- Number of refunds issued: 1,014,728
- Average refund issued per return: $2,876
Arizona
- Number of refunds issued: 2,489,607
- Average refund issued per return: $2,906
Virginia
- Number of refunds issued: 3,104,589
- Average refund issued per return: $2,924
Alabama
- Number of refunds issued: 1,706,757
- Average refund issued per return: $2,927
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Tennessee
- Number of refunds issued: 2,538,157
- Average refund issued per return: $2,990
Maryland
- Number of refunds issued: 2,274,415
- Average refund issued per return: $2,996
Utah
- Number of refunds issued: 1,136,825
- Average refund issued per return: $3,006
Massachusetts
- Number of refunds issued: 2,665,414
- Average refund issued per return: $3,022
Mississippi
- Number of refunds issued: 996,532
- Average refund issued per return: $3,029
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New York
- Number of refunds issued: 7,320,293
- Average refund issued per return: $3,037
Illinois
- Number of refunds issued: 4,694,804
- Average refund issued per return: $3,037
Washington
- Number of refunds issued: 2,844,051
- Average refund issued per return: $3,040
New Jersey
- Number of refunds issued: 3,416,022
- Average refund issued per return: $3,069
Georgia
- Number of refunds issued: 3,719,030
- Average refund issued per return: $3,101
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Connecticut
- Number of refunds issued: 1,376,125
- Average refund issued per return: $3,113
Oklahoma
- Number of refunds issued: 1,314,941
- Average refund issued per return: $3,114
Wyoming
- Number of refunds issued: 212,826
- Average refund issued per return: $3,156
California
- Number of refunds issued: 13,117,801
- Average refund issued per return: $3,164
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Louisiana
- Number of refunds issued: 1,563,732
- Average refund issued per return: $3,223
Nevada
- Number of refunds issued: 1,203,568
- Average refund issued per return: $3,266
Florida
- Number of refunds issued: 8,529,860
- Average refund issued per return: $3,308
Texas
- Number of refunds issued: 10,805,571
- Average refund issued per return: $3,456
Methodology: GOBankingRates, using the Internal Revenue Service’s SOI Tax Stats for the fiscal year 2023, found each state’s total number of tax refunds issued and the total dollar amount of refunds issued for individual income tax and employment tax. The second figure was divided by the first to give the only ranking factor of Average Refund Issued Per Return. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Feb. 18, 2025.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Average Tax Refund Check in Every State
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