Iowa 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.
Iowa comes out ahead on 5 of them and South Dakota on 10, 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.
MeasureIowaSouth Dakota
Home price$241,255$325,618
Rent paid$957$941
Cost of living89.791.9
Income$75,501$76,881
Property tax1.33%1.00%
Income tax3.80%0.00%
Sales tax6.94%6.11%
Electric bill$119$138
Temperature50.4°F47.4°F
Snowfall26.3 in29.7 in
Precipitation34.1 in23.7 in
Sunshine3.98 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.414.2
Bachelor's or higher32.1%34.2%
Crime rate243362
Commute20.4 min18.5 min
Unemployment3.2%2.0%
Population change+1.5%+5.5%
Wildfire risk45.375.5
Flood risk62.654.5
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.