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North Carolina ranked in the middle of the pack in the amount of per-capita taxes its residents paid last year, according to a study published by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

North Carolinians paid $2,146.68 per person in state taxes last year, bringing it in at 25 among the 50 states. In a show of consistency, the state ranked 25^th in 2004 as well. The only southern states to rank higher than North Carolina were Maryland(14), West Virginia(16), Arkansas(18), and Kentucky(23).

The two biggest tax bites on state residents were individual income tax, at $970.58 per capita, and sales tax, at $877.06. The N.C. government collected more than $18.6 billion in state taxes in 2005, according to the Census Bureau.

Total state tax per capita was highest in Vermont, with residents paying $2,600.16. It was lowest in South Dakota, where residents paid state taxes of $1,430.46. The United States as a nation received a total of more than $648.6 billion in taxes in 2005, with a per capita average of $2,192.27.