California vs New York
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 5 of them and New York on 10, 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 York
Home price$775,549$525,947
Rent paid$2,042$1,671
Cost of living142.3125.1
Income$100,149$85,820
Property tax0.70%1.30%
Income tax13.30%10.90%
Sales tax9.03%8.54%
Electric bill$161$164
Temperature62.7°F52.4°F
Snowfall4.3 in39.2 in
Precipitation18.4 in37.2 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.88 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.911.6
Bachelor's or higher38.1%41.2%
Crime rate486380
Commute29.7 min33.2 min
Unemployment5.2%4.6%
Population change-0.5%-1.0%
Wildfire risk96.834.8
Flood risk98.594.6
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.