Iowa vs Virginia
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 Virginia 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.
MeasureIowaVirginia
Home price$241,255$419,920
Rent paid$957$1,599
Cost of living89.7100.8
Income$75,501$92,090
Property tax1.33%0.78%
Income tax3.80%5.75%
Sales tax6.94%5.77%
Electric bill$119$173
Temperature50.4°F57.6°F
Snowfall26.3 in11.3 in
Precipitation34.1 in40.8 in
Sunshine3.98 kWh/m²4.24 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.414.0
Bachelor's or higher32.1%43.3%
Crime rate243218
Commute20.4 min28.3 min
Unemployment3.2%3.7%
Population change+1.5%+2.9%
Wildfire risk45.333.1
Flood risk62.667.2
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.