California vs Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts 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.
MeasureCaliforniaMassachusetts
Home price$775,549$672,867
Rent paid$2,042$1,788
Cost of living142.3141.2
Income$100,149$104,828
Property tax0.70%1.00%
Income tax13.30%9.00%
Sales tax9.03%6.25%
Electric bill$161$183
Temperature62.7°F50.1°F
Snowfall4.3 in29.5 in
Precipitation18.4 in42.1 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.82 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.912.0
Bachelor's or higher38.1%48.3%
Crime rate486315
Commute29.7 min30.6 min
Unemployment5.2%4.4%
Population change-0.5%+1.7%
Wildfire risk96.851.0
Flood risk98.594.7
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.