California vs New Jersey
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 New Jersey 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.
MeasureCaliforniaNew Jersey
Home price$775,549$584,681
Rent paid$2,042$1,719
Cost of living142.3115.1
Income$100,149$104,294
Property tax0.70%1.88%
Income tax13.30%10.75%
Sales tax9.03%6.60%
Electric bill$161$159
Temperature62.7°F54.1°F
Snowfall4.3 in17.4 in
Precipitation18.4 in38.7 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.98 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.911.8
Bachelor's or higher38.1%44.5%
Crime rate486218
Commute29.7 min31.9 min
Unemployment5.2%4.5%
Population change-0.5%+2.8%
Wildfire risk96.850.6
Flood risk98.595.7
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.