Iowa vs Massachusetts
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 11 of them and Massachusetts on 4, 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.
MeasureIowaMassachusetts
Home price$241,255$672,867
Rent paid$957$1,788
Cost of living89.7141.2
Income$75,501$104,828
Property tax1.33%1.00%
Income tax3.80%9.00%
Sales tax6.94%6.25%
Electric bill$119$183
Temperature50.4°F50.1°F
Snowfall26.3 in29.5 in
Precipitation34.1 in42.1 in
Sunshine3.98 kWh/m²3.82 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.412.0
Bachelor's or higher32.1%48.3%
Crime rate243315
Commute20.4 min30.6 min
Unemployment3.2%4.4%
Population change+1.5%+1.7%
Wildfire risk45.351.0
Flood risk62.694.7
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.