It’s spring, so it’s time to set aside sweaters and hoodies and start looking at summer clothes. Perhaps the winter months have added padding that made last year’s clothes a little tighter—or maybe the reverse is true and you need to find new gear for your different waistline. Or… maybe you just want to celebrate the change of the seasons with a new wardrobe to boost your mood and brighten your closet. It’s also not a bad idea to think about shopping for birthdays and holidays, or to buy something special to refresh a room in your home. All of that means we’re looking for the best places to shop, whether that means tax-free purchases or a great array of walking distance boutiques. Here to help us is Smarter Travel’s list of the 10 best states for shopping.
In first place? Massachusetts. In this New England state, clothing is exempt from sales taxes unless if an item costs more than $175, so you can scoop up excellent clothes so long as they’re not bearing designer labels. Boston is a hub for shopping with shopping districts like Charles Street, Newbury Street, Assembly Row, Coolidge Corner and Harvard Square. There are also plenty of premium outlets and malls, too.
Next is New Hampshire, where there’s no sales tax at all. The best boutique shopping happens in the charming town of Portsmouth (we love its charming downtown on the edge of the river), while you can find outlets and malls in North Conway, Tilton and Merrimack.
The third best state for shopping is Oregon, another one with no sales tax (the others are Alaska, Delaware and Montana). Of course, its capital, Portland, brims with bespoke, funky shops, while the town of Bend also offers a mix of boutiques and big box stores. We once did school shopping in Oregon on the way home from a road trip because we knew the lack of sales tax would save us money over our home state, California—which has the highest sales tax, 7.25 percent.
These are the top 10 U.S. states for the best shopping in 2025:
1. Massachusetts
2. New Hampshire
3. Oregon
4. New Jersey
5. Rhode Island
6. New York
7. Pennsylvania
8. Virginia
9. Minnesota
10. Delaware