Massachusetts vs North Carolina
Twenty measures that tend to decide a move, side by side. Every figure is the same one the map shows, from the same source.
Massachusetts comes out ahead on 5 of them and North Carolina 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.
MeasureMassachusettsNorth Carolina
Home price$672,867$340,430
Rent paid$1,788$1,215
Cost of living141.297.8
Income$104,828$73,958
Property tax1.00%0.66%
Income tax9.00%3.99%
Sales tax6.25%7.10%
Electric bill$183$151
Temperature50.1°F60.3°F
Snowfall29.5 in2.3 in
Precipitation42.1 in42.5 in
Sunshine3.82 kWh/m²4.46 kWh/m²
Students per teacher12.016.4
Bachelor's or higher48.3%37.1%
Crime rate315376
Commute30.6 min25.7 min
Unemployment4.4%3.6%
Population change+1.7%+7.2%
Wildfire risk51.053.8
Flood risk94.784.6
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.