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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

Find Out: 8 Reasons Why Your Refund Will Be Late This Year

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

Do You Know? Why Do I Owe Taxes This Year?

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

IRS Tax Brackets: Here’s How Much You’ll Pay in 2020 on What You Earned in 2019

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

Learn: How To Fill Out a W-4

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

Unbelievable: How To Avoid Paying Taxes Legally — and the 11 Craziest Ways People Have Done It

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

More From GOBankingRates

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

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