California vs Virginia
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 Virginia 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.
MeasureCaliforniaVirginia
Home price$775,549$419,920
Rent paid$2,042$1,599
Cost of living142.3100.8
Income$100,149$92,090
Property tax0.70%0.78%
Income tax13.30%5.75%
Sales tax9.03%5.77%
Electric bill$161$173
Temperature62.7°F57.6°F
Snowfall4.3 in11.3 in
Precipitation18.4 in40.8 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²4.24 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.914.0
Bachelor's or higher38.1%43.3%
Crime rate486218
Commute29.7 min28.3 min
Unemployment5.2%3.7%
Population change-0.5%+2.9%
Wildfire risk96.833.1
Flood risk98.567.2
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.