Maryland 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.
Maryland 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.
MeasureMarylandSouth Dakota
Home price$436,104$325,618
Rent paid$1,732$941
Cost of living115.491.9
Income$102,905$76,881
Property tax0.92%1.00%
Income tax6.50%0.00%
Sales tax6.00%6.11%
Electric bill$209$138
Temperature56.1°F47.4°F
Snowfall15.2 in29.7 in
Precipitation37.4 in23.7 in
Sunshine4.13 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.614.2
Bachelor's or higher44.7%34.2%
Crime rate420362
Commute32.3 min18.5 min
Unemployment4.3%2.0%
Population change+1.4%+5.5%
Wildfire risk33.575.5
Flood risk81.754.5
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.