California vs Montana
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 2 of them and Montana on 13, 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.
MeasureCaliforniaMontana
Home price$775,549$476,115
Rent paid$2,042$1,074
Cost of living142.395.5
Income$100,149$75,340
Property tax0.70%0.61%
Income tax13.30%5.65%
Sales tax9.03%0.00%
Electric bill$161$114
Temperature62.7°F44.2°F
Snowfall4.3 in54.5 in
Precipitation18.4 in23.9 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.96 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.914.2
Bachelor's or higher38.1%36.3%
Crime rate486424
Commute29.7 min19.5 min
Unemployment5.2%3.3%
Population change-0.5%+5.6%
Wildfire risk96.888.5
Flood risk98.561.0
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.