California vs Washington
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 Washington 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.
MeasureCaliforniaWashington
Home price$775,549$603,303
Rent paid$2,042$1,712
Cost of living142.3114.1
Income$100,149$99,389
Property tax0.70%0.75%
Income tax13.30%0.00%
Sales tax9.03%9.57%
Electric bill$161$130
Temperature62.7°F50°F
Snowfall4.3 in5.4 in
Precipitation18.4 in56.5 in
Sunshine5.20 kWh/m²3.56 kWh/m²
Students per teacher21.918.3
Bachelor's or higher38.1%41.0%
Crime rate486326
Commute29.7 min27.2 min
Unemployment5.2%5.2%
Population change-0.5%+3.8%
Wildfire risk96.874.2
Flood risk98.591.4
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.