The 10 Best States for Spending Your Tax Dollars

How well are your tax dollars being spent? It depends on what state you live in.

If you're one of the few Americans who live in Alaska or Wyoming -- states with relatively low taxes -- you're getting a lot of bang for all those bucks you give the government in April, according to a new study from WalletHub, a Web site with personal finance tools and information. But if you live in Arkansas or Alabama, your tax dollars aren't being spent as well.

The report ranked states based on "taxpayer ROI," or, the quality of services provided by the government compared to the amount of money paid in taxes. While tax receipts can be easily measured, quality of services cannot. WalletHub used 22 metrics in each state to determine how well tax dollars were being spent, including infrastructure, education, health and safety.

Red states and blue states had nearly the same ROI, with blue states getting the slight edge. While Alaska gets good ROI for its extremely favorable tax situation, it ranks only 30 in services provided; the violent crime rate in Alaska is five times higher than that in Vermont. Further, Vermont's incarceration rate is less than one-tenth of South Dakota's.

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