Yikes, taxes is where you’ll discover the beauty and fun of California life has its costs. California has an income tax between 1% and 12.30% of your income, depending on your household type and income. The average state and local sales tax rate sits at bout $8.68 and California is the most expensive in the nation for adding taxes on top of gasoline purchases at 60.6 cents! It should come as no surprise that the taxes and cost of living is higher in California than most places we’ve included on our moving guides.