<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 B000000 03/31/96
000 C000000 0000893968
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0
000 J000000 A
001 A000000 PIONEER TAX-FREE STATE SERIES TRUST
001 B000000 811-7336
001 C000000 6177427825
002 A000000 60 STATE STREET
002 B000000 BOSTON
002 C000000 MA
002 D010000 02109
002 D020000 1820
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 Y
007 B000000 3
007 C010100 1
007 C020100 PIONEER CALIFORNIA DOUBLE TAX-FREE FUND
007 C030100 N
007 C010200 2
007 C020200 PIONEER NEW YORK TRIPLE TAX-FREE FUND
007 C030200 N
007 C010300 3
007 C020300 PIONEER MASSACHUSETTS DOUBLE TAX-FREE FUND
007 C030300 N
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
008 A00AA01 PIONEERING MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
008 B00AA01 A
008 C00AA01 801-8255
008 D01AA01 BOSTON
008 D02AA01 MA
008 D03AA01 02109
008 D04AA01 1820
011 A00AA01 PIONEER FUNDS DISTRIBUTOR, INC.
011 B00AA01 8-41256
011 C01AA01 BOSTON
011 C02AA01 MA
011 C03AA01 02109
<PAGE> PAGE 2
011 C04AA01 1820
012 A00AA01 PIONEERING SERVICES CORPORATION
012 B00AA01 84-1359
012 C01AA01 BOSTON
012 C02AA01 MA
012 C03AA01 02109
012 C04AA01 1820
013 A00AA01 ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP
013 B01AA01 BOSTON
013 B02AA01 MA
013 B03AA01 02110
013 B04AA01 2604
015 A00AA01 BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & CO.
015 B00AA01 C
015 C01AA01 BOSTON
015 C02AA01 MA
015 C03AA01 02110
015 C04AA01 1820
015 E01AA01 X
015 A00AA02 DELETE
015 A00AA03 DELETE
015 A00AA04 DELETE
015 A00AA05 DELETE
015 A00AA06 DELETE
015 A00AA07 DELETE
015 A00AA08 DELETE
015 A00AA09 DELETE
015 A00AA10 DELETE
015 A00AA11 DELETE
015 A00AA12 DELETE
015 A00AA13 DELETE
015 A00AA14 DELETE
015 A00AA15 DELETE
015 A00AA16 DELETE
015 A00AA17 DELETE
015 A00AA18 DELETE
015 A00AA19 DELETE
015 A00AA20 DELETE
015 A00AA21 DELETE
015 A00AA22 DELETE
015 A00AA23 DELETE
015 A00AA24 DELETE
015 A00AA25 DELETE
018 00AA00 Y
019 A00AA00 Y
019 B00AA00 33
019 C00AA00 PIONEERFDS
020 C000001 0
020 C000002 0
020 C000003 0
020 C000004 0
<PAGE> PAGE 3
020 C000005 0
020 C000006 0
020 C000007 0
020 C000008 0
020 C000009 0
020 C000010 0
021 000000 0
022 A000001 PAINE WEBBER
022 B000001 13-2638166
022 C000001 1680
022 D000001 2939
022 A000002 ROSEVELT AND CROSS
022 B000002 13-2728032
022 C000002 50
022 D000002 2532
022 A000003 CHILTON & O'CONNOR
022 C000003 0
022 D000003 1497
022 A000004 GRUNTAL & CO.
022 B000004 13-3179859
022 C000004 424
022 D000004 957
022 A000005 SMITH BARNEY
022 B000005 13-1912900
022 C000005 100
022 D000005 1236
022 A000006 BEAR STEARNS
022 B000006 13-3299429
022 C000006 227
022 D000006 1009
022 A000007 BAYBANK
022 C000007 151
022 D000007 885
022 A000008 AH WILLIAMS
022 B000008 23-2177819
022 C000008 0
022 D000008 999
022 A000009 PRUDENIAL SECURITIES
022 B000009 22-2231168
022 C000009 0
022 D000009 870
022 A000010 RAYMOND JAMES
022 B000010 59-1237041
022 C000010 0
022 D000010 786
023 C000000 3280
023 D000000 15753
024 00AA00 N
025 D00AA01 0
025 D00AA02 0
025 D00AA03 0
<PAGE> PAGE 4
025 D00AA04 0
025 D00AA05 0
025 D00AA06 0
025 D00AA07 0
025 D00AA08 0
026 A000000 N
026 B000000 N
026 C000000 N
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 Y
045 00AA00 Y
046 00AA00 N
047 00AA00 Y
048 00AA00 0.600
048 A01AA00 0
048 A02AA00 0.000
048 B01AA00 0
048 B02AA00 0.000
048 C01AA00 0
048 C02AA00 0.000
048 D01AA00 0
048 D02AA00 0.000
048 E01AA00 0
048 E02AA00 0.000
048 F01AA00 0
048 F02AA00 0.000
048 G01AA00 0
048 G02AA00 0.000
048 H01AA00 0
048 H02AA00 0.000
048 I01AA00 0
048 I02AA00 0.000
048 J01AA00 0
048 J02AA00 0.000
048 K01AA00 0
048 K02AA00 0.000
049 00AA00 N
050 00AA00 N
051 00AA00 N
052 00AA00 N
053 A00AA00 Y
053 B00AA00 Y
053 C00AA00 N
054 A00AA00 Y
054 B00AA00 N
054 C00AA00 N
<PAGE> PAGE 5
054 D00AA00 N
054 E00AA00 N
054 F00AA00 N
054 G00AA00 N
054 H00AA00 Y
054 I00AA00 N
054 J00AA00 Y
054 K00AA00 N
054 L00AA00 N
054 M00AA00 Y
054 N00AA00 Y
054 O00AA00 N
058 A00AA00 N
059 00AA00 Y
060 A00AA00 N
060 B00AA00 N
061 00AA00 50
066 A00AA00 N
067 00AA00 N
068 A00AA00 N
068 B00AA00 N
069 00AA00 N
077 A000000 N
078 000000 N
080 C00AA00 0
081 B00AA00 0
082 A00AA00 N
082 B00AA00 0
083 B00AA00 0
084 B00AA00 0
086 A010000 0
086 A020000 0
086 B010000 0
086 B020000 0
086 C010000 0
086 C020000 0
086 D010000 0
086 D020000 0
086 E010000 0
086 E020000 0
086 F010000 0
086 F020000 0
028 A010100 44
028 A020100 21
028 A030100 0
028 A040100 18
028 B010100 226
028 B020100 20
028 B030100 0
028 B040100 200
028 C010100 82
<PAGE> PAGE 6
028 C020100 0
028 C030100 0
028 C040100 956
028 D010100 909
028 D020100 35
028 D030100 0
028 D040100 935
028 E010100 184
028 E020100 14
028 E030100 0
028 E040100 1300
028 F010100 0
028 F020100 4
028 F030100 0
028 F040100 4585
028 G010100 1445
028 G020100 94
028 G030100 0
028 G040100 7994
028 H000100 370
029 000100 Y
030 A000100 11
030 B000100 3.50
030 C000100 0.00
031 A000100 2
031 B000100 0
032 000100 9
033 000100 0
034 000100 N
035 000100 0
036 B000100 0
037 000100 N
038 000100 0
039 000100 N
040 000100 Y
041 000100 Y
042 A000100 0
042 B000100 0
042 C000100 0
042 D000100 100
042 E000100 0
042 F000100 0
042 G000100 0
042 H000100 0
043 000100 3
044 000100 0
055 A000100 N
055 B000100 N
056 000100 Y
057 000100 N
062 A000100 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 7
062 B000100 0.0
062 C000100 0.0
062 D000100 0.0
062 E000100 0.0
062 F000100 0.0
062 G000100 0.0
062 H000100 0.0
062 I000100 0.0
062 J000100 0.0
062 K000100 0.0
062 L000100 0.0
062 M000100 0.0
062 N000100 0.0
062 O000100 100.0
062 P000100 0.0
062 Q000100 0.0
062 R000100 0.0
063 A000100 0
063 B000100 10.3
064 A000100 Y
064 B000100 N
070 A010100 Y
070 A020100 N
070 B010100 N
070 B020100 N
070 C010100 N
070 C020100 N
070 D010100 N
070 D020100 N
070 E010100 N
070 E020100 N
070 F010100 N
070 F020100 N
070 G010100 N
070 G020100 N
070 H010100 N
070 H020100 N
070 I010100 N
070 I020100 N
070 J010100 N
070 J020100 N
070 K010100 N
070 K020100 N
070 L010100 N
070 L020100 N
070 M010100 N
070 M020100 N
070 N010100 N
070 N020100 N
070 O010100 Y
070 O020100 N
<PAGE> PAGE 8
070 P010100 N
070 P020100 N
070 Q010100 N
070 Q020100 N
070 R010100 N
070 R020100 N
071 A000100 1252
071 B000100 7114
071 C000100 6168
071 D000100 20
072 A000100 6
072 B000100 185
072 C000100 0
072 D000100 0
072 E000100 0
072 F000100 21
072 G000100 0
072 H000100 0
072 I000100 3
072 J000100 4
072 K000100 0
072 L000100 4
072 M000100 7
072 N000100 1
072 O000100 0
072 P000100 0
072 Q000100 19
072 R000100 11
072 S000100 2
072 T000100 3
072 U000100 0
072 V000100 0
072 W000100 7
072 X000100 82
072 Y000100 64
072 Z000100 167
072AA000100 3
072BB000100 0
072CC010100 113
072CC020100 0
072DD010100 167
072DD020100 0
072EE000100 0
073 A010100 0.2652
073 A020100 0.0000
073 B000100 0.0000
073 C000100 0.0000
074 A000100 0
074 B000100 0
074 C000100 0
074 D000100 1632
<PAGE> PAGE 9
074 E000100 0
074 F000100 0
074 G000100 0
074 H000100 0
074 I000100 0
074 J000100 1477
074 K000100 15
074 L000100 24
074 M000100 0
074 N000100 3148
074 O000100 1015
074 P000100 2
074 Q000100 0
074 R010100 0
074 R020100 0
074 R030100 0
074 R040100 814
074 S000100 0
074 T000100 1317
074 U010100 122
074 U020100 0
074 V010100 10.78
074 V020100 0.00
074 W000100 0.0000
074 X000100 30
074 Y000100 0
075 A000100 0
075 B000100 6498
076 000100 0.00
028 A010200 86
028 A020200 17
028 A030200 0
028 A040200 72
028 B010200 289
028 B020200 17
028 B030200 0
028 B040200 43
028 C010200 56
028 C020200 16
028 C030200 0
028 C040200 350
028 D010200 418
028 D020200 15
028 D030200 0
028 D040200 642
028 E010200 52
028 E020200 13
028 E030200 0
028 E040200 487
028 F010200 0
028 F020200 6
<PAGE> PAGE 10
028 F030200 0
028 F040200 2765
028 G010200 901
028 G020200 84
028 G030200 0
028 G040200 4359
028 H000200 394
029 000200 Y
030 A000200 10
030 B000200 3.50
030 C000200 0.00
031 A000200 2
031 B000200 0
032 000200 8
033 000200 0
034 000200 N
035 000200 0
036 B000200 0
037 000200 N
038 000200 0
039 000200 N
040 000200 Y
041 000200 Y
042 A000200 0
042 B000200 0
042 C000200 0
042 D000200 100
042 E000200 0
042 F000200 0
042 G000200 0
042 H000200 0
043 000200 1
044 000200 0
055 A000200 N
055 B000200 N
056 000200 Y
057 000200 N
062 A000200 Y
062 B000200 0.0
062 C000200 0.0
062 D000200 0.0
062 E000200 0.0
062 F000200 0.0
062 G000200 0.0
062 H000200 0.0
062 I000200 0.0
062 J000200 0.0
062 K000200 0.0
062 L000200 0.0
062 M000200 0.0
062 N000200 0.0
<PAGE> PAGE 11
062 O000200 100.0
062 P000200 0.0
062 Q000200 0.0
062 R000200 0.0
063 A000200 0
063 B000200 8.0
064 A000200 Y
064 B000200 N
070 A010200 Y
070 A020200 N
070 B010200 N
070 B020200 N
070 C010200 N
070 C020200 N
070 D010200 N
070 D020200 N
070 E010200 N
070 E020200 N
070 F010200 N
070 F020200 N
070 G010200 N
070 G020200 N
070 H010200 N
070 H020200 N
070 I010200 N
070 I020200 N
070 J010200 N
070 J020200 N
070 K010200 N
070 K020200 N
070 L010200 N
070 L020200 N
070 M010200 N
070 M020200 N
070 N010200 N
070 N020200 N
070 O010200 Y
070 O020200 N
070 P010200 N
070 P020200 N
070 Q010200 N
070 Q020200 N
070 R010200 N
070 R020200 N
071 A000200 900
071 B000200 4425
071 C000200 4688
071 D000200 19
072 A000200 6
072 B000200 135
072 C000200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 12
072 D000200 0
072 E000200 0
072 F000200 16
072 G000200 0
072 H000200 0
072 I000200 2
072 J000200 2
072 K000200 0
072 L000200 2
072 M000200 7
072 N000200 1
072 O000200 0
072 P000200 0
072 Q000200 19
072 R000200 8
072 S000200 3
072 T000200 1
072 U000200 0
072 V000200 0
072 W000200 8
072 X000200 69
072 Y000200 56
072 Z000200 122
072AA000200 30
072BB000200 0
072CC010200 0
072CC020200 5
072DD010200 122
072DD020200 0
072EE000200 0
073 A010200 0.2591
073 A020200 0.0000
073 B000200 0.0000
073 C000200 0.0000
074 A000200 971
074 B000200 0
074 C000200 0
074 D000200 1675
074 E000200 0
074 F000200 0
074 G000200 0
074 H000200 0
074 I000200 0
074 J000200 0
074 K000200 14
074 L000200 29
074 M000200 0
074 N000200 2689
074 O000200 401
074 P000200 1
074 Q000200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 13
074 R010200 0
074 R020200 0
074 R030200 0
074 R040200 299
074 S000200 0
074 T000200 1988
074 U010200 182
074 U020200 0
074 V010200 10.94
074 V020200 0.00
074 W000200 0.0000
074 X000200 23
074 Y000200 0
075 A000200 0
075 B000200 4883
076 000200 0.00
028 A010300 93
028 A020300 16
028 A030300 0
028 A040300 60
028 B010300 51
028 B020300 17
028 B030300 0
028 B040300 0
028 C010300 50
028 C020300 18
028 C030300 0
028 C040300 1
028 D010300 80
028 D020300 16
028 D030300 0
028 D040300 623
028 E010300 114
028 E020300 13
028 E030300 0
028 E040300 303
028 F010300 -110
028 F020300 7
028 F030300 0
028 F040300 1963
028 G010300 278
028 G020300 87
028 G030300 0
028 G040300 2950
028 H000300 279
029 000300 Y
030 A000300 10
030 B000300 3.50
030 C000300 0.00
031 A000300 2
031 B000300 0
<PAGE> PAGE 14
032 000300 8
033 000300 0
034 000300 N
035 000300 0
036 B000300 0
037 000300 N
038 000300 0
039 000300 N
040 000300 Y
041 000300 Y
042 A000300 0
042 B000300 0
042 C000300 0
042 D000300 100
042 E000300 0
042 F000300 0
042 G000300 0
042 H000300 0
043 000300 0
044 000300 0
055 A000300 N
055 B000300 N
056 000300 Y
057 000300 N
062 A000300 Y
062 B000300 0.0
062 C000300 0.0
062 D000300 0.0
062 E000300 0.0
062 F000300 0.0
062 G000300 0.0
062 H000300 0.0
062 I000300 0.0
062 J000300 0.0
062 K000300 0.0
062 L000300 0.0
062 M000300 0.0
062 N000300 0.0
062 O000300 100.0
062 P000300 0.0
062 Q000300 0.0
062 R000300 0.0
063 A000300 0
063 B000300 9.1
064 A000300 Y
064 B000300 N
070 A010300 Y
070 A020300 N
070 B010300 N
070 B020300 N
070 C010300 N
<PAGE> PAGE 15
070 C020300 N
070 D010300 N
070 D020300 N
070 E010300 N
070 E020300 N
070 F010300 N
070 F020300 N
070 G010300 N
070 G020300 N
070 H010300 N
070 H020300 N
070 I010300 N
070 I020300 N
070 J010300 N
070 J020300 N
070 K010300 N
070 K020300 N
070 L010300 N
070 L020300 N
070 M010300 N
070 M020300 N
070 N010300 N
070 N020300 N
070 O010300 Y
070 O020300 N
070 P010300 N
070 P020300 N
070 Q010300 N
070 Q020300 N
070 R010300 N
070 R020300 N
071 A000300 728
071 B000300 3714
071 C000300 4047
071 D000300 18
072 A000300 6
072 B000300 115
072 C000300 0
072 D000300 0
072 E000300 0
072 F000300 14
072 G000300 0
072 H000300 0
072 I000300 1
072 J000300 3
072 K000300 0
072 L000300 3
072 M000300 6
072 N000300 5
072 O000300 0
072 P000300 0
<PAGE> PAGE 16
072 Q000300 17
072 R000300 10
072 S000300 7
072 T000300 0
072 U000300 0
072 V000300 0
072 W000300 7
072 X000300 73
072 Y000300 62
072 Z000300 104
072AA000300 0
072BB000300 2
072CC010300 36
072CC020300 0
072DD010300 104
072DD020300 0
072EE000300 0
073 A010300 0.2618
073 A020300 0.0000
073 B000300 0.0000
073 C000300 0.0000
074 A000300 813
074 B000300 0
074 C000300 0
074 D000300 1500
074 E000300 0
074 F000300 0
074 G000300 0
074 H000300 0
074 I000300 0
074 J000300 0
074 K000300 13
074 L000300 23
074 M000300 6
074 N000300 2355
074 O000300 231
074 P000300 3
074 Q000300 0
074 R010300 0
074 R020300 0
074 R030300 0
074 R040300 89
074 S000300 0
074 T000300 2032
074 U010300 185
074 U020300 0
074 V010300 11.00
074 V020300 0.00
074 W000300 0.0000
074 X000300 16
074 Y000300 0
<PAGE> PAGE 17
075 A000300 0
075 B000300 4238
076 000300 0.00
SIGNATURE ROBERT P. NAULT
TITLE ASST. SECRETARY
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000893968
<NAME> PIONEER TAX-FREE STATE SERIES TRUST
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 01
<NAME> PIONEER CALIFORNIA DOUBLE TAX-FREE
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> MAR-31-1996
<PERIOD-END> MAR-31-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 1621292
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 1632352
<RECEIVABLES> 1501296
<ASSETS-OTHER> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 14663
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 3148311
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 1014842
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 816898
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 1831740
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 1412054
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 122087
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 707874
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (106543)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 11060
<NET-ASSETS> 1316571
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 184653
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> (17543)
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 167110
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 2578
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 113264
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 282952
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> (167110)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 128753
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 722976
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 8436
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (6338881)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 21091
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 85036
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 4467946
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 10.81
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.27
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (0.03)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (0.27)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 10.78
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 0.60
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000893968
<NAME> PIONEER TAX-FREE STATE SERIES TRUST
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 03
<NAME> PIONEER MASSACHUSETTS DOUBLE TAX-FREE
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> MAR-31-1996
<PERIOD-END> MAR-31-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 1465165
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 1500434
<RECEIVABLES> 22466
<ASSETS-OTHER> 6181
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 826174
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 2355255
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 231115
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 92387
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 323502
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 2054210
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 184777
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 417218
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (57726)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 35269
<NET-ASSETS> 2031753
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 115522
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> (11178)
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 104344
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (1963)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 35642
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 138023
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> (104344)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 24850
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 265031
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 7740
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (2551270)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (55763)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 13424
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 75729
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 4467946
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 10.98
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.26
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 0.02
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (0.26)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 11.00
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 0.61
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000893968
<NAME> PIONEER TAX-FREE STATE SERIES TRUST
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 02
<NAME> PIONEER NEW YORK TRIPLE TAX-FREE
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> MAR-31-1996
<PERIOD-END> MAR-31-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 1612558
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 1675169
<RECEIVABLES> 28749
<ASSETS-OTHER> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 985455
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 2689373
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 401408
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 300087
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 701495
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 1956361
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 181787
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 486907
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (31094)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 62611
<NET-ASSETS> 1987878
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 134694
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> (13049)
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 121645
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 30132
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (5403)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 146374
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> (121645)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 80428
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 393064
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 7516
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (3348895)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (61226)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 15686
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 72488
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 5226503
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 10.96
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.26
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (0.02)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (0.26)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 10.94
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 0.65
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
