Iowa vs Michigan
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 12 of them and Michigan on 3, 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.
MeasureIowaMichigan
Home price$241,255$269,972
Rent paid$957$1,117
Cost of living89.790.1
Income$75,501$72,389
Property tax1.33%1.19%
Income tax3.80%4.25%
Sales tax6.94%6.00%
Electric bill$119$131
Temperature50.4°F48.9°F
Snowfall26.3 in47.5 in
Precipitation34.1 in30.4 in
Sunshine3.98 kWh/m²3.80 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.416.9
Bachelor's or higher32.1%33.3%
Crime rate243434
Commute20.4 min24.3 min
Unemployment3.2%5.0%
Population change+1.5%+0.5%
Wildfire risk45.339.8
Flood risk62.684.6
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.