Illinois vs Montana
Twenty measures that tend to decide a move, side by side. Every figure is the same one the map shows, from the same source.
Illinois comes out ahead on 7 of them and Montana on 8, 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.
MeasureIllinoisMontana
Home price$298,871$476,115
Rent paid$1,292$1,074
Cost of living94.795.5
Income$83,211$75,340
Property tax1.88%0.61%
Income tax4.95%5.65%
Sales tax8.98%0.00%
Electric bill$134$114
Temperature52°F44.2°F
Snowfall25.4 in54.5 in
Precipitation30.8 in23.9 in
Sunshine3.93 kWh/m²3.96 kWh/m²
Students per teacher13.814.2
Bachelor's or higher39.2%36.3%
Crime rate289424
Commute28.3 min19.5 min
Unemployment5.1%3.3%
Population change-0.8%+5.6%
Wildfire risk37.388.5
Flood risk90.061.0
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.