Iowa 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.
Iowa comes out ahead on 9 of them and Montana on 6, 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.
MeasureIowaMontana
Home price$241,255$476,115
Rent paid$957$1,074
Cost of living89.795.5
Income$75,501$75,340
Property tax1.33%0.61%
Income tax3.80%5.65%
Sales tax6.94%0.00%
Electric bill$119$114
Temperature50.4°F44.2°F
Snowfall26.3 in54.5 in
Precipitation34.1 in23.9 in
Sunshine3.98 kWh/m²3.96 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.414.2
Bachelor's or higher32.1%36.3%
Crime rate243424
Commute20.4 min19.5 min
Unemployment3.2%3.3%
Population change+1.5%+5.6%
Wildfire risk45.388.5
Flood risk62.661.0
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.