Just looked at some tax breakdowns for Midwest states and honestly it's wild how much difference location makes. So if you're making 100k after tax in places like Iowa or Illinois, you're really only keeping around 73k. That's over 26k going straight to taxes.

But here's the thing - it's not uniform across the region. North Dakota and South Dakota are way better for your take-home. Someone making 100k there keeps closer to 77-78k after all taxes. Meanwhile states like Iowa and Kansas are hitting you with nearly 27k in total tax burden.

The Midwest ranges from around 21-27k in taxes on a 100k salary depending where you land. Indiana's one of the better ones at about 24.5k, but Illinois and Iowa are definitely on the heavier side. Pretty interesting when you're thinking about relocation or where to position yourself financially. The after tax income difference between best and worst states in the region is basically 5k a year - that adds up quick.