California vs Maryland
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 Maryland 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.
MeasureCaliforniaMaryland
Home price$775,549$436,104
Rent paid$2,042$1,732
Cost of living142.3115.4
Income$100,149$102,905
Property tax0.70%0.92%
Income tax13.30%6.50%
Sales tax9.03%6.00%
Electric bill$161$209
Temperature62.7°F56.1°F
Snowfall4.3 in15.2 in
Precipitation18.4 in37.4 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²4.13 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.914.6
Bachelor's or higher38.1%44.7%
Crime rate486420
Commute29.7 min32.3 min
Unemployment5.2%4.3%
Population change-0.5%+1.4%
Wildfire risk96.833.5
Flood risk98.581.7
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.