The Average Refund Check in Every State
The vast majority of Americans don’t enjoy filing their taxes. Even 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.
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 foregoing 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 2018 tax year — the taxes you filed at the beginning of 2019. The study took the total amount of money issued as returns in each state and divided it by the number of returns with a refund to come up with the average return. See where your state ranks among the rest of the country in terms of getting that fat check from Uncle Sam.
Last updated: Feb. 28, 2020
Maine
Number of refunds issued: 517,623
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,217,035,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,351.20
Montana
Number of refunds issued: 379,742
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $899,058,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,367.55
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Vermont
Number of refunds issued: 256,895
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $615,705,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,396.72
Oregon
Number of refunds issued: 1,474,133
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,580,389,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,428.81
Wisconsin
Number of refunds issued: 2,255,666
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,482,602,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,430.59
Idaho
Number of refunds issued: 579,653
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,419,883,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,449.54
Minnesota
Number of refunds issued: 2,135,587
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,405,175,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,531.00
Ohio
Number of refunds issued: 4,600,787
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $11,680,478,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,538.80
Hawaii
Number of refunds issued: 543,542
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,393,466,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,563.68
South Carolina
Number of refunds issued: 1,739,102
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,458,568,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,563.72
Michigan
Number of refunds issued: 3,811,111
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $9,879,028,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,592.16
South Dakota
Number of refunds issued: 326,817
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $849,893,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,600.52
New Hampshire
Number of refunds issued: 564,846
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,469,920,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,602.34
Missouri
Number of refunds issued: 2,247,910
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,867,798,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,610.33
Indiana
Number of refunds issued: 2,607,363
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,808,159,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,611.13
Nebraska
Number of refunds issued: 721,141
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,885,048,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,613.98
New Mexico
Number of refunds issued: 730,106
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,919,274,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,628.76
Rhode Island
Number of refunds issued: 439,827
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,158,190,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,633.29
Colorado
Number of refunds issued: 2,063,579
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $5,438,350,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,635.40
Iowa
Number of refunds issued: 1,151,919
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,036,222,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,635.79
West Virginia
Number of refunds issued: 646,527
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,704,160,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,635.87
North Carolina
Number of refunds issued: 3,624,400
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $9,571,113,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,640.74
Kentucky
Number of refunds issued: 1,600,941
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,244,777,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,651.43
Pennsylvania
Number of refunds issued: 5,082,924
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $13,528,841,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,661.63
Kansas
Number of refunds issued: 1,051,660
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,799,204,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,661.70
Utah
Number of refunds issued: 1,068,659
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,855,020,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,671.59
Arizona
Number of refunds issued: 2,294,814
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,194,947,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,699.54
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Washington
Number of refunds issued: 2,814,953
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $7,620,230,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,707.05
Tennessee
Number of refunds issued: 2,493,893
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,835,526,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,740.91
Arkansas
Number of refunds issued: 1,001,686
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,747,310,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,742.69
Delaware
Number of refunds issued: 369,193
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $1,023,909,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,773.37
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Virginia
Number of refunds issued: 3,147,687
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $8,757,196,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,782.11
Nevada
Number of refunds issued: 1,141,738
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,195,363,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,798.68
Alabama
Number of refunds issued: 1,658,296
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,659,859,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,810.03
Alaska
Number of refunds issued: 276,884
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $782,426,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,825.83
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North Dakota
Number of refunds issued: 281,413
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $800,157,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,843.35
Maryland
Number of refunds issued: 2,337,922
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $6,663,208,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,850.06
Georgia
Number of refunds issued: 3,671,508
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $10,545,449,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,872.24
Massachusetts
Number of refunds issued: 2,732,838
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $7,903,739,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,892.14
Illinois
Number of refunds issued: 5,011,066
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $14,587,621,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,911.08
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Mississippi
Number of refunds issued: 1,024,077
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $2,994,160,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,923.76
Oklahoma
Number of refunds issued: 1,307,189
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $3,845,652,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,941.93
Wyoming
Number of refunds issued: 217,046
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $641,594,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,956.03
California
Number of refunds issued: 13,857,382
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $41,196,554,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,972.90
Florida
Number of refunds issued: 8,061,441
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $24,024,970,000
Average refund issued per return: $2,980.23
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Louisiana
Number of refunds issued: 1,617,469
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,914,807,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,038.58
New Jersey
Number of refunds issued: 3,522,238
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $10,776,278,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,059.50
New York
Number of refunds issued: 7,801,349
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $24,303,034,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,115.23
Connecticut
Number of refunds issued: 1,405,442
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $4,385,473,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,120.35
Texas
Number of refunds issued: 10,327,372
Total dollar amount of refunds issued: $32,941,228,000
Average refund issued per return: $3,189.70
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Methodology: GOBankingRates, using the Internal Revenue Service’s Statistics of Income Tax Stats for the fiscal year 2018, found the average refund check in every state. The study first found the total number of individual income and employment tax refunds issued in each state. GOBankingRates then found the total dollar amount issued for those refunds. This second figure was divided by the first to produce the only ranking factor for each state: average refund issued per return (this figure was not rounded). All data was collected on and up to date as of Feb. 5, 2020.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Average Refund Check in Every State