Maine 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.
Maine 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.
MeasureMaineSouth Dakota
Home price$424,107$325,618
Rent paid$1,169$941
Cost of living11391.9
Income$76,442$76,881
Property tax0.98%1.00%
Income tax7.15%0.00%
Sales tax5.50%6.11%
Electric bill$155$138
Temperature44.8°F47.4°F
Snowfall66.8 in29.7 in
Precipitation39.1 in23.7 in
Sunshine3.72 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher11.514.2
Bachelor's or higher37.1%34.2%
Crime rate100362
Commute25.6 min18.5 min
Unemployment3.1%2.0%
Population change+3.8%+5.5%
Wildfire risk32.375.5
Flood risk67.154.5
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.