California vs Iowa
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 3 of them and Iowa on 12, 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.
MeasureCaliforniaIowa
Home price$775,549$241,255
Rent paid$2,042$957
Cost of living142.389.7
Income$100,149$75,501
Property tax0.70%1.33%
Income tax13.30%3.80%
Sales tax9.03%6.94%
Electric bill$161$119
Temperature62.7°F50.4°F
Snowfall4.3 in26.3 in
Precipitation18.4 in34.1 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.98 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.914.4
Bachelor's or higher38.1%32.1%
Crime rate486243
Commute29.7 min20.4 min
Unemployment5.2%3.2%
Population change-0.5%+1.5%
Wildfire risk96.845.3
Flood risk98.562.6
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.