Alabama vs South Dakota

Twenty measures that tend to decide a move, side by side. Every figure is the same one the map shows, from the same source.

Alabama comes out ahead on 6 of them and South Dakota on 9, but that tally is not a recommendation: it weighs a difference in class size the same as a difference in house price. Read the rows that matter to you.

MeasureAlabamaSouth Dakota
Home price$241,517$325,618
Rent paid$1,008$941
Cost of living88.691.9
Income$66,659$76,881
Property tax0.37%1.00%
Income tax5.00%0.00%
Sales tax9.46%6.11%
Electric bill$185$138
Temperature64.2°F47.4°F
Snowfall2.0 in29.7 in
Precipitation52.3 in23.7 in
Sunshine4.53 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher17.214.2
Bachelor's or higher29.9%34.2%
Crime rate360362
Commute26.0 min18.5 min
Unemployment3.2%2.0%
Population change+3.3%+5.5%
Wildfire risk62.575.5
Flood risk83.354.5

Bold marks the better figure where a measure has a better direction. Weather, snowfall and rainfall are shown plain, because warmer is not better — it is a preference.

Alabama in fullSouth Dakota in fullAll rankings