Short answer: No — the United States is not a high‑tax country.
By every major international metric, the U.S. ranks below average among advanced economies.
🇺🇸 Where the U.S. actually ranks
The most authoritative measure is tax‑to‑GDP ratio, which captures the total national tax burden — income tax, payroll tax, corporate tax, VAT/sales tax, excise, property tax, etc.
Keep in mind that for their taxes citizens in higher taxed countries receive in return many of the programs and services Americans complain loudly about – notably healthcare, college tuition, childcare.
For example, France, one of the highest taxed countries, chooses to collect a significant portion of national wealth upfront via taxes to pay for life necessities collectively, rather than having citizens pay for healthcare, higher education, and most retirement out of pocket —— and no, that is not socialism.
Note the effective income tax rate for the top 5% is five times higher than the bottom 50%.
For most Americans even property taxes are nothing to complain about.
The national average property tax bill is $4,427 perhaps a useful national benchmark, but your actual bill depends heavily on your state, county, and even school district — it can range from under $1,000/year in low-tax states to well over $10,000/year in high-cost counties in places like New Jersey or New York.
For example:
Here’s roughly what you’d pay annually on a $300,000 home based on average/effective property tax rates:
Alabama ~0.43%~$1,290
New Jersey~2.23%~$6,690
Montana ~0.78%~$2,340
Hmmmm…New Jersey school systems rank 3rd from the top nationally while Alabama ranks 4th from the bottom.
Directionally the broader pattern is the states with the lowest property taxes tend to rank lower for school quality, while high-property-tax states like NJ, Massachusetts, and Connecticut dominate the top of the rankings.
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