North Carolina happens to be home of some very large military installations which dramatically affect its economy in a way much bigger than they do in California. North Dakota, with a small population, also happens to host two major air force bases and, as the center of the North American continent, is home to more than 70% of nation's nuclear arsenal, which also makes it a prime target in the event of nuclear war.
As a "progressive" state with a disproportionate share of the nation's millionaires and billionaires, it is patently obvious that they would pay the most taxes under a "progressive" tax system. But you need to back out defense related expenditures (from which the whole nation benefits) before listing the givers and takers.
Then it would be important to understand the basis on which the graphic I posted was generated, because the thrust of the article didn’t seem to say that Government spending on military installations had any influence on the numbers.