Even when you look at those rankings that take property tax into consideration, CA is way higher than TX. And the people who see a dime from the CA safety net aren't the ones paying property tax.
Don't take into account the higher appreciation in California .
I disagree about the safety net. I was a high earning California resident (mid six) and when I was laid off, I got my unemployment and my kids got free Medicaid that ended up paying out quite a bit. The safety net is pretty nice.
Since that payout from insurance, my total tax burden in California was actually negative. Had I been in a state like Texas I would have paid less in tax but more overall.
