California vs District of Columbia
Twenty measures that tend to decide a move, side by side. Every figure is the same one the map shows, from the same source.
California comes out ahead on 4 of them and District of Columbia on 11, 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.
MeasureCaliforniaDistrict of Columbia
Home price$775,549$579,332
Rent paid$2,042$1,954
Cost of living142.3138.8
Income$100,149$109,707
Property tax0.70%0.61%
Income tax13.30%10.75%
Sales tax9.03%6.00%
Electric bill$161$152
Snowfall4.3 in10.2 in
Precipitation18.4 in39.7 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²4.15 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.911.0
Bachelor's or higher38.1%65.5%
Crime rate4861,006
Commute29.7 min31.0 min
Unemployment5.2%6.0%
Population change-0.5%+0.6%
Wildfire risk96.826.2
Flood risk98.597.4
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.