Iowa vs Maine
Twenty measures that tend to decide a move, side by side. Every figure is the same one the map shows, from the same source.
Iowa comes out ahead on 8 of them and Maine on 7, 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.
MeasureIowaMaine
Home price$241,255$424,107
Rent paid$957$1,169
Cost of living89.7113
Income$75,501$76,442
Property tax1.33%0.98%
Income tax3.80%7.15%
Sales tax6.94%5.50%
Electric bill$119$155
Temperature50.4°F44.8°F
Snowfall26.3 in66.8 in
Precipitation34.1 in39.1 in
Sunshine3.98 kWh/m²3.72 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.411.5
Bachelor's or higher32.1%37.1%
Crime rate243100
Commute20.4 min25.6 min
Unemployment3.2%3.1%
Population change+1.5%+3.8%
Wildfire risk45.332.3
Flood risk62.667.1
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.