California vs North Dakota
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 North Dakota 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.
MeasureCaliforniaNorth Dakota
Home price$775,549$293,556
Rent paid$2,042$931
Cost of living142.391.4
Income$100,149$77,871
Property tax0.70%0.92%
Income tax13.30%2.50%
Sales tax9.03%7.09%
Electric bill$161$133
Temperature62.7°F42.4°F
Snowfall4.3 in23.0 in
Precipitation18.4 in20.1 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.76 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.911.7
Bachelor's or higher38.1%34.0%
Crime rate486254
Commute29.7 min17.5 min
Unemployment5.2%2.3%
Population change-0.5%+2.6%
Wildfire risk96.865.1
Flood risk98.549.2
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.