The statewide nonprofit newsroom New York Focus answers your questions on the state’s notoriously opaque budget process.

Massachusetts is the top-paying state, with the average salary there coming in at $80,330. New York landed in second place, with a pay scale of $78,624. Mississippi is lowest, with an annual average ...

Illinois was found to have the highest total effective tax rate at 16.58%, with households earning the state’s median income paying roughly $12,270 in state and local taxes each year. New York ...