California vs Texas
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 4 of them and Texas on 11, 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.
MeasureCaliforniaTexas
Home price$775,549$302,999
Rent paid$2,042$1,386
Cost of living142.392.1
Income$100,149$79,721
Property tax0.70%1.40%
Income tax13.30%0.00%
Sales tax9.03%8.20%
Electric bill$161$174
Temperature62.7°F69.7°F
Snowfall4.3 in1.0 in
Precipitation18.4 in33.1 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²4.77 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.915.1
Bachelor's or higher38.1%35.2%
Crime rate486389
Commute29.7 min27.5 min
Unemployment5.2%4.4%
Population change-0.5%+8.8%
Wildfire risk96.883.5
Flood risk98.589.2
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.