Average Tax Refund by State
Taxpayers residing in Connecticut, Nevada and Texas receive the highest average federal tax refunds, according to IRS data.
The smallest refund checks go to mailboxes in rural states: Montana, Maine, Vermont and North Dakota.
The following table shows federal individual income tax refund statistics, by state, for fiscal year 2011, the most recent state data available from the IRS:
Note: Figures shown are for individual income tax returns only. Fiscal year totals also vary from other published estimates.
| State | Total Tax Returns | Total Refunds | Total refund amount | Average Refund | Average refund for all returns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 472748 | 371028 | $861,552,000 | $2,322.07 | $1,822.43 |
| Maine | 621678 | 517490 | $1,202,504,000 | $2,323.72 | $1,934.29 |
| Vermont | 316281 | 258790 | $603,275,000 | $2,331.14 | $1,907.40 |
| North Dakota | 328299 | 253895 | $610,581,000 | $2,404.86 | $1,859.83 |
| Oregon | 1733500 | 1383519 | $3,376,311,000 | $2,440.38 | $1,947.68 |
| Wisconsin | 2738860 | 2240878 | $5,519,025,000 | $2,462.89 | $2,015.08 |
| Nebraska | 854586 | 693922 | $1,740,243,000 | $2,507.84 | $2,036.36 |
| Hawaii | 651371 | 528922 | $1,338,269,000 | $2,530.18 | $2,054.54 |
| Minnesota | 2553974 | 2050934 | $5,189,983,000 | $2,530.55 | $2,032.12 |
| Ohio | 5431137 | 4613444 | $11,722,192,000 | $2,540.88 | $2,158.33 |
| Iowa | 1394596 | 1135210 | $2,887,415,000 | $2,543.51 | $2,070.43 |
| South Dakota | 392330 | 313507 | $799,313,000 | $2,549.59 | $2,037.35 |
| West Virginia | 780655 | 676279 | $1,725,046,000 | $2,550.79 | $2,209.74 |
| Idaho | 660379 | 543936 | $1,396,696,000 | $2,567.76 | $2,114.99 |
| Michigan | 4589501 | 3810809 | $9,792,568,000 | $2,569.68 | $2,133.69 |
| Kansas | 1305935 | 1052521 | $2,735,544,000 | $2,599.04 | $2,094.70 |
| New Hampshire | 661014 | 549952 | $1,431,314,000 | $2,602.62 | $2,165.33 |
| South Carolina | 2033254 | 1712531 | $4,458,037,000 | $2,603.19 | $2,192.56 |
| Missouri | 2683757 | 2230687 | $5,826,748,000 | $2,612.09 | $2,171.12 |
| Pennsylvania | 6113169 | 5174301 | $13,545,885,000 | $2,617.92 | $2,215.85 |
| Rhode Island | 505797 | 435332 | $1,148,674,000 | $2,638.62 | $2,271.02 |
| New Mexico | 910968 | 756313 | $1,998,489,000 | $2,642.41 | $2,193.81 |
| Indiana | 2974480 | 2556169 | $6,770,852,000 | $2,648.83 | $2,276.31 |
| North Carolina | 4173493 | 3483018 | $9,288,733,000 | $2,666.86 | $2,225.65 |
| Kentucky | 1851772 | 1597417 | $4,261,893,000 | $2,667.99 | $2,301.52 |
| Delaware | 424722 | 359647 | $966,114,000 | $2,686.28 | $2,274.70 |
| Arkansas | 1218547 | 1030286 | $2,791,665,000 | $2,709.60 | $2,290.98 |
| Alaska | 372850 | 297562 | $814,607,000 | $2,737.60 | $2,184.81 |
| Colorado | 2353168 | 1900738 | $5,215,023,000 | $2,743.68 | $2,216.17 |
| Washington | 3156568 | 2633331 | $7,343,081,000 | $2,788.51 | $2,326.29 |
| Arizona | 2693072 | 2228582 | $6,225,903,000 | $2,793.66 | $2,311.82 |
| Tennessee | 2831182 | 2460429 | $6,876,410,000 | $2,794.80 | $2,428.81 |
| Oklahoma | 1580878 | 1308324 | $3,656,954,000 | $2,795.14 | $2,313.24 |
| Virginia | 3713289 | 3119070 | $8,768,042,000 | $2,811.11 | $2,361.26 |
| Massachusetts | 3180907 | 2592557 | $7,301,617,000 | $2,816.38 | $2,295.45 |
| District of Columbia | 320305 | 268766 | $766,905,000 | $2,853.43 | $2,394.30 |
| Georgia | 4386168 | 3810041 | $10,887,475,000 | $2,857.57 | $2,482.23 |
| Alabama | 2079192 | 1777096 | $5,102,922,000 | $2,871.49 | $2,454.28 |
| Wyoming | 275564 | 228954 | $660,175,000 | $2,883.44 | $2,395.72 |
| Maryland | 2774762 | 2313280 | $6,693,504,000 | $2,893.51 | $2,412.28 |
| Utah | 1132471 | 975580 | $2,833,672,000 | $2,904.60 | $2,502.20 |
| California | 16572467 | 13540352 | $39,391,301,000 | $2,909.18 | $2,376.91 |
| Florida | 9508519 | 8285487 | $24,171,516,000 | $2,917.33 | $2,542.09 |
| Mississippi | 1270066 | 1090765 | $3,196,967,000 | $2,930.94 | $2,517.17 |
| Illinois | 6035398 | 5128075 | $15,168,174,000 | $2,957.87 | $2,513.20 |
| Louisiana | 1979224 | 1686157 | $5,068,035,000 | $3,005.67 | $2,560.62 |
| New York | 9243325 | 7753092 | $23,807,424,000 | $3,070.70 | $2,575.63 |
| New Jersey | 4268414 | 3526260 | $10,928,233,000 | $3,099.10 | $2,560.26 |
| Texas | 10902321 | 9414795 | $29,301,928,000 | $3,112.33 | $2,687.68 |
| Nevada | 1257756 | 1083065 | $3,457,612,000 | $3,192.43 | $2,749.03 |
| Connecticut | 1722768 | 1419287 | $4,566,857,000 | $3,217.71 | $2,650.88 |
