California vs Michigan
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 Michigan 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.
MeasureCaliforniaMichigan
Home price$775,549$269,972
Rent paid$2,042$1,117
Cost of living142.390.1
Income$100,149$72,389
Property tax0.70%1.19%
Income tax13.30%4.25%
Sales tax9.03%6.00%
Electric bill$161$131
Temperature62.7°F48.9°F
Snowfall4.3 in47.5 in
Precipitation18.4 in30.4 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.80 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.916.9
Bachelor's or higher38.1%33.3%
Crime rate486434
Commute29.7 min24.3 min
Unemployment5.2%5.0%
Population change-0.5%+0.5%
Wildfire risk96.839.8
Flood risk98.584.6
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.