Alaska 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.

Alaska comes out ahead on 5 of them and South Dakota on 8, 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.

MeasureAlaskaSouth Dakota
Home price$400,659$325,618
Rent paid$1,397$941
Cost of living124.991.9
Income$95,665$76,881
Property tax0.94%1.00%
Income tax0.00%0.00%
Sales tax1.82%6.11%
Electric bill$157$138
Temperature36.4°F47.4°F
Snowfall46.0 in29.7 in
Precipitation43.6 in23.7 in
Students per teacher19.214.2
Bachelor's or higher32.8%34.2%
Crime rate724362
Commute19.8 min18.5 min
Unemployment4.4%2.0%
Population change+0.5%+5.5%
Wildfire risk74.475.5
Flood risk18.854.5

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.

Alaska in fullSouth Dakota in fullAll rankings