Illinois vs South Dakota
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 6 of them and South Dakota on 9, 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.
MeasureIllinoisSouth Dakota
Home price$298,871$325,618
Rent paid$1,292$941
Cost of living94.791.9
Income$83,211$76,881
Property tax1.88%1.00%
Income tax4.95%0.00%
Sales tax8.98%6.11%
Electric bill$134$138
Temperature52°F47.4°F
Snowfall25.4 in29.7 in
Precipitation30.8 in23.7 in
Sunshine3.93 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher13.814.2
Bachelor's or higher39.2%34.2%
Crime rate289362
Commute28.3 min18.5 min
Unemployment5.1%2.0%
Population change-0.8%+5.5%
Wildfire risk37.375.5
Flood risk90.054.5
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.