California vs Vermont
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 Vermont 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.
MeasureCaliforniaVermont
Home price$775,549$402,017
Rent paid$2,042$1,239
Cost of living142.3113.6
Income$100,149$82,730
Property tax0.70%1.51%
Income tax13.30%8.75%
Sales tax9.03%6.43%
Electric bill$161$141
Temperature62.7°F44.3°F
Snowfall4.3 in97.9 in
Precipitation18.4 in42.4 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.64 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.911.5
Bachelor's or higher38.1%45.1%
Crime rate486219
Commute29.7 min23.9 min
Unemployment5.2%2.6%
Population change-0.5%+0.2%
Wildfire risk96.821.0
Flood risk98.564.8
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.